


♛ 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 ♛

by Arthuria_PenDragon



Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [20]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akashi Seijuurou Is Absolute, Aliases, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Attempt at Humor, Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF GoM, BAMF Kuroko Tetsuya, BAMF Nijimura Shuuzou, Badass, Badass Kuroko Tetsuya, Basketball, Betaed, Canon Related, Canon Rewrite, Dissing, Everyone Else is just Done, Extended Scene, Families of Choice, Family Shenanigans, First Meetings, Flashbacks, Food, Friendship, Gen, GoM & Uncrowned Kings Are Friends, GoM and UcK are protective of each other like Hell, GoM and Uncrowned Kings together are too much to handle, GoM as a Family, GoM calling each other by given name/nickname is a thing, He is The Best Cook accoring to the GoM and the UcK, Headcanon, I Don't Even Know, Inner jokes, Inter-High (Kuroko no Basuke), Is this crack?, Kuroko Tetsuya Can Cook, Metaphors, Missing Scene, Nijimura Is An Uncrowned King, Non-Linear Narrative, Not Canon Compliant, POV Third Person Omniscient, Possessive Friends, Protective Generation of Miracles, Protective Team, Protective Uncrowned Kings, Protectiveness, READ NOTES, Riddles, Rivalry, Scene Rewrite, Season/Series 01, Season/Series 02, Season/Series 03, Snippets, This Is STUPID, Timestamp, Uncrowned Kings Are Friends, Unlikely Friendships, Warning: Do NOT Piss Off Kuroko Tetsuya, What Have I Done, What Was I Thinking?, What-If, Wherein Kuroko is The Best cook and the GoM and UcK love him for it, Why Did I Write This?, Winter Cup (Kuroko no Basuke), long chapters, team meeting, team shenanigans, you won’t convince me otherwise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29497194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon
Summary: Basketball brings together the most diverse people and makes them form life-long bonds.The world (or perhaps it was just theteams) just wasn't ready to handlethesepeople being friends.═════ ∘◦ ♛ ◦∘ ══════AKA, Wherein the teams witness the oddest bunch of friends (turned family) interact on and off the court and can do nothing, butstare.AKA,a KnB "rewrite" where the best (teen) Basketball players of Japan are all weird, BAMF and the craziest  (most jealous and possessive) family-in-all-but-blood(I cannot decide, but this is probably Crack [Treated Seriously] and other stupid things)
Relationships: Akashi Seijuurou & Kuroko Tetsuya, Akashi Seijuurou & Kuroko Tetsuya & Generation of Miracles, Akashi Seijuurou & Kuroko Tetsuya & Uncrowned Kings, Aomine Daiki & Kuroko Tetsuya, Aomine Daiki & Kuroko Tetsuya & Momoi Satsuki, Generation of Miracles & Generation of Miracles, Generation of Miracles & Kuroko Tetsuya, Generation of Miracles & Momoi Satsuki, Generation of Miracles & Nijimura Shuuzou, Generation of Miracles & Uncrowned Kings, Hanamiya Makoto & Kuroko Tetsuya, Hanamiya Makoto & Nijimura Shuuzou, Kise Ryouta & Kuroko Tetsuya, Kiseki no Sedai | Generation of Miracles & Kuroko Tetsuya, Kiseki no Sedai | Generation of Miracles & Momoi Satsuki, Kiseki no Sedai | Generation of Miracles & Nijimura Shuuzou, Kiyoshi Teppei & Kuroko Tetsuya, Nijimura Shuuzou & Uncrowned Kings, No Romantic Relationship(s), Uncrowned Kings & Momoi Satsuki, Uncrowned Kings & Uncrowned Kings
Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021426
Comments: 34
Kudos: 75





	♛ 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 ♛

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Wolfsbane](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1957317) by [speckled_dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/speckled_dragon/pseuds/speckled_dragon). 



> So... After reading _Wolfsbane_ by @speckled_dragon... I got into a silly discussion with my Beta reader, Steff. And we decided, that the GoM and the Uncrowned Kings have _many_ things in common and it's a surprise no one ever wrote a fic about them.  
> So... I did.
> 
> At the same time, this work is a huge shoutout to @Stef, my Beta-reader. Stef, thank you for your dedication and hard work. This work is my gift for you, as a thanks for all the help 💖
> 
> Have fun reading :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The episode during which the "missing"/rewritten scene(s) takes place will always be written in bold. The scene itself may take place pre-episode, post-episode or during the episode. Mostly, they will be during the episode, although if it is pre-/post-episode or pre-/post-match, it will be somehow inditacted within the scene. There will be scenes that are rewritten to fit my crazy AU. Episodes which do not appear in the chapter, go according to Canon with no change at all.  
> Also, if you see blue page break art it means the scenes are from the same episode, but only certain scene(s) are rewritten, not the entire episode.
> 
> _There is a short chat exchange in one of the scenes. The underlined words under the time are emphasised/shouted_

**Episode 1:** **“I am Kuroko“**

Akashi Seijūrō walked into Rakuzan’s First String gym with a sigh. It had been a mere week since he officially became a student of this school, and he already missed his teammates — his _siblings_ . Oh, well . . . at least, the others were here with him. Besides, considering Satsuki’s habit of information gathering and distribution, as well as the fact that Tetsuya . . . ah, _yes_. It shouldn’t be too hard to keep track of the others, right?

Besides, he wouldn’t be among strangers, unlike the others. Sure, Kiyoshi was in Seirin . . . theoretically. Technically, though, he was still in hospital after that nasty match with Kirisaki last year. The thought made him frown. Senpai had surely given a piece of his mind to those involved, even if it was through the phone. (That is, if senpai _knew_ what had happened. Since he was not in Japan right now, he may or may not know...)

That thought caused a tiny shiver to run down his spine. Senpai was _not_ someone any sane person wanted to piss off — in that sense, Tetsuya and Senpai were frighteningly similar. Both of them had an icy, quiet rage. Nothing was more destructive than the simmering rage of a quiet man.

He noticed the coach and the manager quietly discussing something, and he walked up to them. He hadn’t met them before, but the description he’d gotten of the coach matched him well enough for Akashi to recognise him.

“Good afternoon, kantoku,“ he greeted with a small bow.

“Good afternoon. You must be our new student, correct?“

He nodded, “Akashi Seijūrō from Teikō.”

“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Shirogane Eiji and this is Higuchi Shōta, the Club’s manager.“

“A pleasure to meet you.”

Soon after greeting them, the Club members arrived. Akashi’s heterochromatic gaze swept the members expertly. Some of the older students sneered down at him, but he just narrowed his eyes at them and that sent them scurrying away. He’d teach them a lesson soon enough anyway — no one hindered his advance when it came to basketball. The annoying older players would be taught a lesson soon enough. They will never forget why he was one of the _Kiseki no Sedai_.

He wondered where the three . . .

“SEI-CHAN!!”

“AKA-CHAN!”

 _There_ . He turned towards the three _Uncrowned Kings_. Hayama was skipping, like always, and even Nebuya had a slight bounce to his steps. Mibuchi was practically dancing his way across the massive gym. Even before he could say anything, the shooting specialist had him in a bone-crushing hug. Akashi sighed again and wriggled a little.

“I’m glad to see you three, but refrain from crushing me, Reo,” he warned.

“Eh, sorry Sei-chan! I just got caught up in the moment. Can’t believe you’re _here_!” he said enthusiastically and then released Akashi. The next hug was from Hayama. Luckily, the blonde was less bent on breaking his bones than Mibuchi had seemed to be. Akashi patted him on the shoulder too.

“Glad to see you again, Kotarō.”

“Man . . . I can’t wait to play with you, Aka-chan!”

“Ah, Akashi, nice to see you again,“ Nebuya greeted patting him on the shoulder — he had quickly learned that there was only one person, who could get away with patting him on the head. _Only one_.

“Likewise, Eikichi. I look forward to working with you three,” he responded smoothly — and it was true. The _Uncrowned Kings_ were a talented bunch, even if they were largely unrecognised. Not that it mattered. They had all acknowledged one another, had played with and against each other. That was enough.

The Club members and even the _coach_ — which was quite an accomplishment on their part, and he would be sure to tell the three of them that later — were staring disbelievingly at them.

“You . . .” the man cleared his throat and did his best to mask his shock, “You _know_ each other?“

Akashi turned to the man and gave a tiny, benevolent smile — not without it being a touch patronising. He just couldn’t help himself. “Of course, kantoku. Do you think me and my former teammates chose our High Schools on a _whim_?”

“Ne, ne, Sei-chan?” Mibuchi called, eyes shining.

Akashi hummed, looking at the other, “Yes?”

The three shared a look and then grinned at him, “So . . . something like this doesn’t really happen so easily, but we know you’re damn good,“ Mibuchi said absently, “Plus, you played Power Guard back at Teikō too . . . so . . .”

“What Reo-nē’s trying to say is that you should be the Captain,” Hayama finished.

Akashi couldn’t help the flash of satisfaction that reared its head in him when he saw the flabbergasted look on the coach and the manager’s faces. It was probably a shock to those two that three known, talented, and quite “prideful” players were offering all the power within the team to him on a silver platter, without even blinking.

“That decision does not happen so easily, with just your word for it,“ Akashi said smoothly, just to humor the coach, “but I would have gone for it even without the offer. However, your offer makes it so much sweeter. Let’s play a quick game, first.”

The three shared a look, and then Nebuya laughed, “Still as straightforward as ever, aren’t you? Fine by me.”

Hayama and Mibuchi were just a teeny, tiny bit less enthusiastic. “I-I don’t want to _die_ —!” the blonde whined, looking at him with wide green eyes.

Akashi hummed and grabbed a ball, well aware of the many eyes on them. “Don’t be _ridiculous_ , Kotarō. It’s just a quick warm-up. I’m not going to _kill_ you.”

Mibuchi snorted, “Shū-chan told us _what_ Teikō was like, Sei-chan. What you call a quick warm-up is likely to kill us. Or at least, kill Kota-chan.”

“Oii, you’re so mean Reo-nē!” the blonde whined, fake tears rolling down his cheeks.

 _“Enough,”_ Akashi called sharply, recognising the first signs of argument. He took a deep breath. He’d spent more than enough time around the other _Kiseki_ and the _Kings_ to be able to read them easily. Both of them clamped their mouths shut, turning to him with wary looks on their faces.

“Gomen, Aka-chan/Sei-chan,” they muttered at the same time.

Akashi sighed. “Fine, fine. Just don’t try my patience any more today. So . . . a three-on-one?”

The three shared a look and then competitive, hungry glints lit up their eyes, “Today . . .“ Kotarō murmured as he took a few steps back, probably already planning his moves, “Today you’ll lose your crown, _Emperor_.”

Akashi hummed amusedly, “Come and try, _Raijū_ . . . but we all know you five are called ‘uncrowned’ for a reason.“

“Not for long, Sei-chan,“ Reo called, “Today we’ll win . . .”

Akashi knew that everyone was staring at them, not believing that they were having such a casual and playful exchange. Some were even giving them odd looks after hearing the monikers, but Akashi didn’t care. He just wanted a good game.

A part of him said that dealing with these three constantly will, in time, cause him regular headaches. But for now? For now, he could ignore that. For now, he was just happy to focus on the game.

While Akashi and the Kings started their impromptu three-on-one, the Club’s manager looked at the coach, “I didn’t know the Kings had played against Teikō . . .”

“I think Shōei had played against them, but a different one of the Kings attended Shōei, not these three. Theoretically, they shouldn’t know each other, let alone this well. But they do. The ‘how’ is a different question . . . Something I’ll ask them about later.” Shirogane murmured, watching the game unfold.

In the following weeks, whenever Shirogane asked how they knew each other, the three oddballs just shrugged and smiled, while Akashi gave a damn cryptic answer.

“You know, some cultures believe the two ends of a rainbow to be the connection between two very different, yet similar things. We . . .“ he looked at the three older students with a slight smirk, “have our own rainbow, kantoku. That’s all.”

The snickering that came from the Kings didn’t help Shirogane’s nerves. All Akashi’s answer did was add more mystery to the situation.

Riddles. Just what he needed from an overconfident First Year . . .

_Wonderful._

* * *

**Episode 2:** **“I am Serious”**

The members of Seirin Basketball Club were gathered in the gym watching as their gleeful coach, Aida Riko, skipped. All the Second Years were rather freaked out, since they were convinced that whenever she was skipping and happy, it meant something disastrous was coming from them. Kuroko didn’t exactly believe that. Few people were scarier than _senpai_ on a very, _very_ bad day.

Then, their coach announced with elation that she had managed to secure a match against Kaijō, shocking everyone. Only Kuroko remained calm. _‘Oh, so I’m seeing Ryō . . . so soon already. I wonder what Seijūrō and the others will think . . .‘_

“A match against Kaijō?!“ several of the older players shrieked, shock and wariness on their faces.

The coach nodded, “They’ll be good opponents. And we’ll be using freshmen to get you all used to playing with something at stake.”

Kuroko almost rolled his eyes. He was from Teikō, thank you very much. _Every_ match was played with something at stake, whether it was practice or official. The only practice matches that had had no stakes at all were the ones where the Strings were pitted against one another, but those were more to motivate the Second and Third String than anything else.

“Good?“ someone murmured, “It will be bad. Very, very bad.”

“Are they any good?“ one of the First Years asked. Kuroko glanced at him, but he couldn’t put a name to the face. Oh, that was bad. He would have to make a little more effort to learn everyone’s names.

“They’re a national level team that’s been participating in the Interhigh every year since the School’s formation,“ the Captain informed them. Kuroko smiled inwardly. A national level team indeed — his brother and protégé had chosen a school fit for him. That was good.

“On top of that, Riko . . .” Hyūga called, looking at the girl seriously, “what you said before . . . were you serious?“

She nodded, brown eyes glimmering gleefully. “Of course! This year, one of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ joined their team. Kise Ryōta.”

Hyūga seemed thoughtful for a moment, “Kise . . . Isn’t he that model?“

“What? A model?“ someone murmured enviously. “That’s rough. Good at basketball _and_ good-looking at the same time . . .”

Hyūga opened his mouth to speak again, but their conversation was interrupted when they heard squealing and screaming. Everyone turned their attention towards the gym entrance, only to see a hoard of girls gathering there.

“Ah, excuse me ladies. I didn’t come here for this. I’ve something important to . . .” a male voice called, and the Seirin members were able to spot the blonde figure that was speaking amidst the commotion. The older members of the Club (as well as Kuroko) noted that he wore the uniform of Kaijō Kōkō.

Kuroko slipped over to the group and appeared next to Kise in a blink, successfully scaring many of the girls. “Excuse me, but we’re trying to have a practice here. Could you please leave the gym? No one is allowed in, who is not a member of the Club,” he stated evenly.

The females paused for a moment, and then a brunette scoffed, “But Kise-kun doesn’t even study here and _he’s in the gym_ . . .!”

“Only because I was _invited_. Otherwise, I would not be even allowed to pass the gate, but you know that,” the blonde said smoothly, taking a step closer to Kuroko.

The girls all frowned and groaned. Kuroko gave the crowd one last warning look. “I kindly ask you to leave, ladies. Do please close the door after yourselves.”

The crowd quieted down, sensing the danger, and shuffled out, slamming the door behind themselves grumpily. Kuroko sighed, and Kise sent a sparkly smile at the Phantom. “Ah, thank you Tetsucchi! You and Seicchi always work wonders with these sorts of things!”

Kuroko hummed, “It was a necessity on our part, you know. To learn to handle the hoard of females trailing after you.”

Kise shrugged, looking around, “So Seirin, huh? Pretty new . . . and fancy in simplicity.”

“What are you doing here?“ Aida asked while eyeing the blonde, finally snapping out of her stupor.

Kise and Kuroko both turned to find the entire team staring at them — or rather, staring at the blonde. Kise shrugged nonchalantly, “Well, our next opponent is Seirin. So I thought I’d have a look. Plus,“ he glanced at Kuroko, “Seicchi told me you came here.”

Kuroko hummed, taking a few steps from the blonde. He shifted so he could watch both Kise and Seirin. “No, it was not him who told you. _He_ does not share information so easily. You pestered Satsuki for information, didn’t you?” He purposefully hadn’t told his teammates where he was going to high school, mostly because he was certain they wouldn’t like the school he had chosen. But he was very serious about his choice.

The blonde just pouted, “ _Mou_ , can’t I come and visit my favourite person, Tetsucchi? Besides, I wanted to see Peicchi too . . .“

Kuroko shook his head. He had hoped to be able to see him soon too, quite excited to surprise him with Kuroko being on his team, but . . . “He is not here, so your efforts have been pointless. He has not been released from the hospital yet. Or so Sei told me last time the topic came up. But according to Mibuchi-kun, he’s recovering fast.”

The blonde sighed, “Oh, that’s too bad, ssu~! But . . . if he’s recovering, that’s good.” Then, to the shock of Seirin, Kise hugged Kuroko, and the teal-haired player didn’t resist. He even patted the model’s back.

“Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but you didn’t just come all the way to greet Kuroko, right?“ his red eyes flashed hungrily as Kagami thrust the ball towards Kise, though it stayed in his hand. “How about playing one-on-one with me, playboy?”

Kise smirked, “Fine by me. You showed me a good enough move just now, I suppose. I’ll show you how _experts_ do it,” he walked towards Kagami but froze when his name was called.

“Ryō,“ Kuroko called, tone calm, “Kaijō and Seirin are facing off in a few days. There should be no showing off on your part. Or Kagami-kun’s. Besides, Kagami-kun is not yet on the level of being considered adequate competition for someone from Teikō.”

The blonde whirled on his heels and looked at the teal-haired player with wide, pleading eyes, “But where’s the _fun_ in the game if . . .”

“ _Ryōta_ ,“ the teal warned. His expression didn’t change much from its neutrality, but his blue eyes darkened.

Kise shifted and ducked his head, “H-hai, Tetsucchi.”

Kuroko sighed and then patted Kise on the arm, “It’s been nice to see you, Ryō, but we’ve things to do. And you should be going. If you have time, you may wait for me and we can eat out together, but I’ll have to finish training first.”

Kise glanced at Seirin and then shrugged, “Ah~, fine, fine. Don’t take too long, Tetsucchi. I didn’t tell my sisters I’ll be visiting you, and I’ll have to meet them.“

Kuroko nodded, “It won’t take longer than necessary, I assure you.“

Kise shrugged and waved at the Phantom, before turning on his heels and striding away, but Kagami’s eyes were narrowed on the blonde, “ _Hey!_ Don’t you just walk off on me! I challenged you!”

Kise paused and then glanced at the redhead and then at Kuroko. Then he shook his head, “I’m many things, Kagami-san, but a suicidal fool is not on that list. Tetsucchi told me not to, and I will abide by his request. See you at the match.”

After saying this, he just walked off. 

He left a dumbfounded, wide-eyed Seirin behind him while Kagami seethed in silence.

* * *

**Post-Episode 5:** **“ Your Basketball”**

Aida Riko couldn’t help but hum happily to herself. They had won against Kaijō! Thanks to Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun, they’d won. It was fascinating to watch Kuroko move in sync with Kagami. Their teamwork was exceptional, despite them having partnered up not too long ago. Still, she noticed it. She noticed that sometimes Kuroko changed the rhythm of his steps, as if he was holding back or unsure about something.

It was odd. It made her wonder, but the team was working together as well as always, so she decided not to call out Kuroko on it. Kuroko Tetsuya was a once-in-a-lifetime enigma, and it frustrated and intrigued her at the same time. If she probed at him about his methods of basketball, he may clam up as he often seemed to do and that was not good. He was quiet and mysterious either way. Any more silence on his part and he may not even be part of the team — and Aida didn’t want him to feel that way! In Seirin, every player counted equally, regardless of skill and experience.

Besides, Kuroko had the right to keep his secrets . . .

She was snapped from her musings, when her phone chimed with an incoming message. She blinked, wondering who might have texted her out of the blue. She swiped her screen to reveal that Teppei’s chat bubble had popped up on her screen.

 **ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ:** **17:04/ ʜᴇʟʟᴏ ʀɪᴋᴏ. ᴀᴍ ɪ ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴᴇᴅ ᴀ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ʏᴇᴀʀ, ᴋᴜʀᴏᴋᴏ ᴛᴇᴛꜱᴜʏᴀ . . . ᴀ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ? ᴀ ꜱᴏ-ᴄᴀʟʟᴇᴅ “ᴘʜᴀɴᴛᴏᴍ” ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀ?**

She blinked at the odd message but typed her reply the moment the question registered in her mind.

**17:05/ ʏᴇꜱ, ʏᴇꜱ ɪ ᴅɪᴅ. ᴋᴜʀᴏᴋᴏ-ᴋᴜɴ’ꜱ ᴀɴ ᴀɴɢᴇʟ. Qᴜɪᴇᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇɴɪɢᴍᴀᴛɪᴄ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀᴡɪꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛᴇꜱᴛ ᴋōʜᴀɪ ɪ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴀᴅ. ᴍʏ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴘʀᴏʙʟᴇᴍ ɪꜱ . . . ᴡᴇʟʟ, ɪ’ᴠᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴇᴛ ᴀ ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʜɪᴍ. ɪ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴘᴇʀʟʏ ʜᴇʟᴘ ʜɪᴍ ᴛʀᴀɪɴ. ᴅᴀᴅ’ꜱ ʙᴜꜱʏ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ɴᴏᴡ, ꜱᴏ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅɴ’ᴛ ᴀꜱᴋ ʜɪᴍ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴇʟᴘ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪꜰ ʜᴇ ʜᴇʟᴘꜱ, ʜᴇ’ᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴋᴜʀᴏᴋᴏ-ᴋᴜɴ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ. ɪ ᴅᴏᴜʙᴛ ʜᴇ’s ᴍᴇᴛ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʜɪᴍ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ . . .**

Teppei didn’t take too long to answer.

 **ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ:** **17:05/ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏ ʜɪꜱ ᴏᴡɴ ᴅᴇᴠɪᴄᴇꜱ. ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴡᴀʏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴇʟᴘ ʜɪᴍ**

She saw red the moment she read the words. How dare he! _How dare he say such a thing,_ when Kuroko-kun had helped them to victory . . . !

 **17:06/ ᴋɪʏᴏꜱʜɪ ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ! ʜᴏᴡ** **ᴅᴀʀᴇ** **ʏᴏᴜ! ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴀʏ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴛʜɪɴɢ! ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀꜱ! 😤😡😡**

 **ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ:** **17:06/ ᴋᴀᴍɪ-ꜱᴀᴍᴀ, ᴄᴀʟᴍ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ʀɪᴋᴏ.😓 ɪᴛ’ꜱ** **ɴᴏᴛ** **ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ. ɪ ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ — ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ᴛᴇɪᴋō ʀᴇɢᴜʟᴀʀ. ᴛᴇɪᴋō ɪꜱ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ-ɴᴇᴄᴋ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜱᴄʜᴏᴏʟꜱ. ɪꜰ ꜱᴇɪʀɪɴ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴀ ᴍɪᴅᴅʟᴇ ꜱᴄʜᴏᴏʟ, ᴡᴇ’ᴅ ʙᴇ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛᴇɪᴋō’ꜱ ʜᴇᴇʟ. ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴄʜᴏᴏʟ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ “ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ“ ᴏꜰ ᴍɪᴅᴅʟᴇ ꜱᴄʜᴏᴏʟꜱ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʏ ʀᴀᴋᴜᴢᴀɴ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇᴀᴅer ᴀᴍᴏɴɢ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴄʜᴏᴏʟꜱ.** **ᴀɴʏ** **ʀᴇɢᴜʟᴀʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛᴇɪᴋō ʟᴇᴀʀɴs ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇᴍꜱᴇʟᴠᴇꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ’ꜱ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴋᴜʀᴏᴋᴏ.**

Aida Riko gaped. Kuroko-kun had been a _regular?! How . . ._ **_Why_ ** _did she not know that?!_

 **17:07/ ᴋᴜʀᴏᴋᴏ-ᴋᴜɴ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀ ʀᴇɢᴜʟᴀʀ?! ᴡᴀɪᴛ . . . ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ** **ᴛʜᴀᴛ** **?**

There was a long moment . . . (or two) of silence from her friend.

 **ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ:** **17:08/ ᴡʜᴏᴏᴘꜱɪᴇ . . . 😅 ɪ ꜱᴇᴇ ʜᴇ ʜᴀsɴ’ᴛ ꜱʜᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ. ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ ʜɪᴍ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀ. ɪ’ᴍ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ʜᴇ ʜᴀꜱ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʀᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ ꜰᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛ ꜱʜᴀʀɪɴɢ ɪᴛ.**

Aida’s eye twitched, as her eyes narrowed on her screen.

**17:08/ ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʜᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀ?**

**ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ :** **17:09/ ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ ʜɪᴍ, ɪ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴍ.** **ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ** **. 🥺**

She sighed at his dramatics and rolled her eyes, before answering.

**17:09/ ɪ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ ɪ ᴡᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴋᴜʀᴏᴋᴏ-ᴋᴜɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ. ɪᴛ’ʟʟ ʙᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴇ. ʙᴜᴛ ꜱᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱʟʏ ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ, ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀ?**

Again, there was a long, hesitant pause. She wondered what was going through his head at the moment.

 **ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ :** **17:11/ ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ — ɪꜰ ᴋᴜʀᴏᴋᴏ ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ.**

She grunted at his dramatics. She hated when he was in a riddling mood. _Why_ did he even like those sorts of things? She bet that he did it only to make her life all the more stressful.

**17:11/ ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ! ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀɴ ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀ! ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ?!**

She waited.

**17:14/ ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ, ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀ ᴍᴇ!**

And waited, her ire growing by the second.

**17:17/ ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ! 😡😤**

**17:21/** **ᴋɪʏᴏꜱʜɪ ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ!!!** **😤😡🤬😡🤬😤**

 **[** **ꜱʏꜱᴛᴇᴍ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ:** **ᴋɪʏᴏꜱʜɪ ᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇɪ ʟᴏɢɢᴇᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ]**

Aida Riko screamed.

* * *

**Episode 13: “ I Believed In You”**

Kiyoshi Teppei sighed and leaned against his pillow, staring out the window. Seirin was playing against Shūtoku, that’s what Riko had texted him a few days ago. And yet he was _here_ and confined to bed rest still, instead of being there with the team to help them. Sure, Riko had told him about the First Years who’d joined . . . but all that did was make Kiyoshi want to play even more.

Kuroko was there. In Seirin. _Kuroko had chosen Seirin_ of all places as his school. How had he not known that? Why hadn’t the Phantom said anything? Why hadn’t someone — _anyone_ told him? He was snapped from his musings by the sound of the door of his room opening.

He turned and smiled at the sight of the visitors. “Mina-san. Good to see you again.”

The four people slipped — or bounced — into the room. “Pei-chan!“ the black-haired individual called with a wide smile.

“Kiyoshi!“

“Pei!“

“Teppei.”

The four people in the room were all old friends and rivals — family in all but blood. All of them were currently the starters of Rakuzan.

“How are you doing, Teppei?“ the short redhead, Akashi Seijūrō, asked.

Kiyoshi smiled a bit, “Better, Akashi-kun. Thank you for asking. I’ll be able to play again soon, but the doctors still want to run a few more tests and help me with my physical therapy a little longer,“ he sighed. “I just wish that I could be there with my team.”

“Tet-chan is with them now,” Mibuchi pointed out lightly. “He won’t let them lose, don‘t worry.”

“Tetsuya’s a spectacular player, Reo, we all know that,“ Akashi spoke, his tone soft, yet powerful. His respect and fondness for the teal was easily detectable. “But at the same time, the Shadow is only as strong, as the Light. From what Ryōta told me . . . Kagami Taiga is not yet at the level of being any serious help to Tetsuya. And Seirin — save for Teppei, who’s right here and thus unable to lend a helping hand — are not familiar with Tetsuya’s capabilities and limits. At this point, I dare say, they do not even know how to train him properly.”

“I already took care of that, Akashi-kun,“ Kiyoshi announced, a half-grin on his face and amusement shining in his brown eyes. “I texted Riko, to let Kuroko handle his own training. She’s been bombarding me with curious messages ever since. She figured out that I know him but doesn’t know where from — or why I told her to leave him to his own devices most of the time.”

Akashi’s heterochromatic eyes glinted with amusement, while Hayama chortled. “Most convenient, Teppei,” the redhead praised. “We wouldn’t want Tetsuya to be training in a manner unsuited for his unique skill set. I’m sure Tetsuya will be asking Daiki and Satsuki to help him out a bit.”

Kiyoshi hummed, “Wouldn’t that be counter-productive? They don’t play on the same team anymore . . . and Aomine helped him...”

“I taught Tetsuya the basics of Misdirection,“ Akashi cut him off smoothly, politely, “but the rest . . . the rest had been Tetsuya’s own invention. From his various passes to his Vanishing Drive. Then it was me and Daiki who helped him learn to shoot. We all know each others’ moves like we know our own by now. Kagami Taiga would get his hand broken if Tetsuya let all his restraints fall.“

“Oi, oi . . . don’t remind me of _that_!” Nebuya grunted.

“Remind you of _what_ , Ei-chan?“ Hayama curiously asked, his eyebrow raised.

Kiyoshi hummed, as Akashi switched on the TV and searched for the channel where they could watch the match.

“You weren’t there that day . . .“ he murmured, looking at the blonde, “I think you were sick. Aomine mentioned a time when Kuroko broke someone’s hand from the Club . . .”

“Haizaki Shōgo,“ Akashi said with a frown, “our Small Forward, before Ryōta came. A real pain in the ass. He wanted to take a pass meant for Daiki and he broke his hand in the process. When it was mentioned,“ here Akashi looked at Hayama, “Eikichi didn’t believe Tetsuya could do such a thing. So he took a try.”

Nebuya frowned and shivered, “I had to sit out for a month because of that hand injury.”

Hayama’s green eyes went wide, “Ah, so _that’s why_ you didn’t play for a month whenever we met up!”

Mibuchi nodded, “Yep, that’s why. Tet-chan should _never_ be pissed off or underestimated. Anyone who does either of those things is as good, as dead.”

Hayama nodded, “I’ll remember that.”

“The point is,“ Akashi picked up the conversation again, as he placed the remote next to Kiyoshi, “that Seirin is unaware of Tetsuya’s true skills. I would like to ask you to train privately with him. A full-powered _Ignite Pass: Kai_ would injure Kagami Taiga. You know Tetsuya better than anyone on Seirin. If there is someone who should be able to learn to work with Tetsuya, that’s you. Or perhaps Kotarō, since he plays similarly to both Daiki and Ryōta . . . but they’re not on the same team. You have learned several of Atsushi’s moves over the years and vice-versa. I know you prefer Center — but for a Center, you have a rather offensive style, all things considered. A lot like Atsushi’s offensive skills. Tetsuya could benefit from that since you can catch his passes.“

Kiyoshi smiled, “You can count on me, Akashi-kun. I hope Kuroko-kun won’t mind the extra training time. I look forward to getting out of here to meet him again.”

Akashi hummed, as they all turned towards the screen to watch the Shūtoku-Seirin match that was just starting. “I’m sure you’ll have fun.”

Nebuya rummaged through the bag he’d brought along and pulled out several boxes of snacks and various drinks. Hayama bounced onto the end of Kiyoshi’s bed as the Seirin player sat up with his pillow propping him up behind his back. Nebuya and Mibuchi both settled in as well, pulling the chairs nearby closer to the bed, with the drinks and snacks distributed among them.

Meanwhile, Shūtoku and Seirin lined up to greet each other.

“I’m glad you guys came. With some company here, it’s a bit less bothersome that I can’t be there with them.”

“You’ll join them soon enough, Teppei,“ Akashi said, “For now, we’re here for company. We don’t leave . . . family alone.”

“Yep, Sei-chan’s right,“ Mibuchi nodded.

“Shhh! _Watch_!“ Hayama hissed. All of them rolled their eyes at his enthusiasm and before turning their attention towards the screen. They watched Shūtoku and Seirin battle fiercely for the ball, Kiyoshi smiling to himself a little. 

He couldn’t be there to help Seirin — not yet. But he knew that Kuroko would do his best to handle the match strategically and work hard to help Seirin win. That knowledge was more than enough to placate him. Kuroko — and Junpei, as well as the others — would do everything for the win. They would play their best, he knew it. So, regardless of the outcome, they wouldn’t have regrets, that he was sure of. Neither Kuroko nor Junpei were the type to stay down for long.

That was what he loved the most about them: their passion for basketball.

* * *

**Episode 14:** **“ You Look Just Like Him”**

Kuroko was tired to the bone. Shūtoku was no slouch, that much had been made clear. He’d also found a worthy opponent in Shin’s new partner. Kazunari Takao’s _Hawk Eye_ was something to watch out for. The only one who had ever been able to follow Kuroko as easily had been Sei. Sure, in the end, some careful strategizing and using his _Ignite Pass_ solved the problem, but it had been a close match.

But now, he knew what to expect from Shūtoku during the Winter Cup. It seemed he would have to kick his training up a few notches. That meant asking some extra help from Dai, Tsuki . . . and perhaps even _him_ . Kuroko took another bite of his food. _‘Note to self, find the phone number soon. I don’t even remember when I last called him . . .‘_

Seirin were resting and eating in a small restaurant, tiredly celebrating their narrow victory. When the door opened, he looked up to see Kasamatsu and Kise walk in. Blue and brown eyes met in a second, and Kise smiled brightly.

“ _Tetsucchi~!_ Hadn’t seen you in ages! How are you?” he asked.

Kuroko smiled faintly at the sight of the blonde and stood up to greet him properly, just as Kasamatsu glared at Kise. “Oi, Kise. It’s a restaurant, so be quieter!“ the older said, raising his hand to whack the blonde in the head.

Kuroko moved in a blink. He was between Kise and Kasamatsu in a second, his eyes narrowed and Kasamatsu’s wrist firmly in his grip. Everyone’s eyes went wide at the unexpected move. That was the scene that Midorima and Kazunari arrived to see just a minute later.

Both Shūtoku players paused as they noticed Kuroko glaring daggers at the Kaijō Captain with the Phantom’s back protectively pressed against the blonde model. “I’d _appreciate_ , Kasamatsu-san, if you _did not raise your hand_ against _my protégé_ ,” he said frostily.

The restaurant went deathly quiet, and even the owner was eyeing them with wariness.

Until Midorima was suddenly there, resting his hand on Kuroko’s shoulder, “Tetsu. Don’t do it. It’s not worth the trouble.”

“He intended to _hit_ him, Shintarō,“ the teal said, his tone dropping even lower.

Midorima sighed, “I gathered that much, Tetsu. But you were faster, and Ryō’s fine. Right, Ryō?“ he asked, looking at the model.

Kise snapped out of his shock, glancing at Midorima and then Kuroko, “Hai. Hai, of course I am. It’s fine, Tetsucchi. Really. Senpai doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s a bit like Seicchi that way.”

“Seijūrō _never_ raised his hand against any of us without a good reason and even then, only for the purpose of a lesson,” the Phantom retorted, his tone still icy.

“ _Tetsuya_ ,“ Midorima called, “let him go. Starting a fight will lead nowhere. It would cause me a headache if I had to call the others and tell them — especially Sei — that you took Ryō’s Captain to pieces. And Mibuchi would probably fuss as well.”

Kuroko sighed and slowly unwound his fingers from around Kasamatsu’s wrist but not without giving the older player a murderous glare that actually made the Kaijō student fidget. “If I ever so much as hear a _whisper_ of you raising a hand against my brother once again, Kasamatsu-san . . . I assure you that you’ll wish we had never met.”

Kise sighed, putting a hand on the teal’s other shoulder. “Relax, Tetsucchi. It’s okay.”

Midorima gently steered the Phantom towards an unoccupied table, while Seirin and Kazunari watched them, dumbstruck. “Come on, Tetsu. I know you’re tired and irritable, but that does not give you the right to murder people.”

“The way he treats Ryō _does_ give me the right, Shintarō,“ the teal said in a low, cold voice.

Midorima shook his head as he looked at the menu, which laid on the table, “No, it does not, and we both know it. Besides, Ryō’s ‘adult’ enough to take care of himself,“ he paused as all three of them sat down, “ _Do_ sleep in tomorrow, hmm? When you’re tired, you’re more prone to bloodshed and that doesn’t bode well for the people surrounding you.”

“I’ve _no_ _idea what_ you’re talking about, Shin,” the pass specialist insisted. The three ex-Teikō players shared a few glances after quickly scanning the list of dishes. Then Kise stood up and went to the counter to make the order for all three of them, which shocked those watching them — mostly because no words that involved food had been exchanged between the three.

Kuroko leaned into the Shooting Guard just a tiny bit, which further startled those present. Midorima draped an arm around him for a moment before they both drew apart and sat up properly, just as Kise returned to take his seat again.

“You don’t know,“ Midorima repeated sarcastically. “I will believe that the day Sei tosses his scissors into the nearest trash can.”

Kise snorted at that, “Not gonna happen anytime soon, Shinicchi. Especially not since you-know-who are his teammates.”

Kuroko leaned his head against the backrest of his seat and closed his eyes, “None of the starters of Rakuzan are idiots, Ryō. They won’t contradict Sei, if they want to stay alive, and I believe they have good survival instincts. By the way . . . has anyone spoken to Atsu or Sei these days?”

“Sei texted me just after we left the locker room,“ Midorima said. “Apparently they watched our game and used it as an excuse to visit him, since he’s not too far away from their school.”

“ _Really?_ “ Kise asked, perking up, “How’s Peicchi? I’ve been way too busy to visit.”

Kuroko opened his eyes too, looking at Midorima, “That’s something I’d like to know as well. He is rather far away.”

“Better,“ Midorima smiled, obviously relieved and pleased. “According to the message . . . he might be released from the hospital soon. No lasting problems.“

“At all?“ Kuroko asked, sitting up straight. A flicker of surprise appeared on his passive features as he quirked an eyebrow at the green-haired teen.

Midorima smiled and hummed, “None at all. Father called the best people to help him, and — as you know — Sei paid the medical bill. Plus, Father said that senpai had managed to find one of the best doctors in the States and roped the man into doing the surgery. I heard Sei paid that bill too.”

Kise whistled, “Does Peicchi know _that_?”

Kuroko snorted, “ _Iie_ , that’s unlikely. If he _knew_ , he’d be hellbent on paying every last penny back to the Akashi family, and Seijūrō wouldn’t let that happen. And I would not allow it . . .”

Midorima rolled his eyes. “Don’t play innocent, Tetsu. Otō-san told me the Akashi family weren't the only ones to cover part of his medical bills. _You_ did as well. Papers signed by Kuroko Tatsuko.”

Kuroko smiled and shrugged, “Okā-san agreed . . . and let’s face it. He’s Okā-san’s favourite out of you all. Well, second favourite after Dai and Tsuki, because they share the first place together,“ he snorted softly. “When she heard what had happened... I think she mentioned something about contacting your father. Or maybe Sei’s? The expense was split between the three of us.” He hummed, “My family, Sei’s and senpai. He insisted on helping out — as if persuading the man in the first place hadn’t been _enough_ — so we let him. Between the three of us, it wasn’t a terrible amount of money, so neither my parents, nor Akashi-san made a fuss. They could tell it was important to us all. But . . . perhaps the winning point went to Sei when he called him family in all but blood.“

“And you _agreed_ with Sei,“ Midorima deadpanned.

Kuroko rolled his eyes, “Of course I agreed with him, Shintarō _. He_ **_is_ ** _family_ , after all.”

Midorima hummed and then shook his head, “Fair enough . . . but it doesn’t matter. What _matters is_ that he’s healthy. He will never be able to pursue basketball professionally . . . but he can definitely play unhindered through High School. In fact, if he takes care of himself properly, he can continue playing for the heck of it from time to time for the rest of his life.”

Kise beamed, “That’s wonderful news, Shinicchi!”

Kuroko nodded, “Wonderful indeed, and I’m sure he’d be the most delighted out of all of us to hear it.”

Midorima nodded, “Probably. So I told Father not to tell him until he is right in front of the main entrance, ready to leave. If he heard that he wouldn’t have to worry too much about the injury . . . he’d leap out of the bed right now and come running back here.”

Kise snorted softly, “That does sound like him.”

Kuroko gave the blonde a sharp look. “You’re saying that as if _you_ aren’t equally reckless when it comes to your injuries.”

Kise pouted, grabbing his heart as if the words were physically painful. _“So mean, ssu~!”_

Midorima rubbed his face, “Sometimes . . . I wonder _why_ in the name of the kami I even acknowledge you all as my siblings.”

Meanwhile, Kasamatsu, Kazunari and Seirin could do nothing but stare disbelievingly at the three Miracles. They were having a proper conversation — well, at least, they weren’t killing each other — when everyone expected them to _do exactly that_. (Plus, they were using each other’s given names, which was very notable . . . not to mention the mystery people whom they were talking about. Several people were looking at Kise as if just staring at the blonde long enough would answer their questions for them. After all, they had no clue who this “Peicchi” was . . . Something Kuroko was more than okay with. If they knew that he knew Kiyoshi, they would likely bring up that awful match between Teikō and Shōei. He hated remembering that day.)

Midorima, finished with his food, looked out at the street, “It seems the rain has stopped. That means we can leave then . . .” he stood up, looking at his partner, “Come on, Takao.”

“Bye, Shinicchi!” Kise waved.

Midorima nodded to the two other Miracles, and then he paused seemingly thoughtful. He looked back at Kuroko, “Dai’s in a bad mood, you know . . . if you want to get Seirin through the Interhigh, kick up your game a notch. Or two . . . Dragging the team around on your own isn’t easy . . .”

“I’ll handle Daiki, Shin,“ Kuroko said dismissively. 

“And what if Tōō wins the Interhigh?“ 

Kuroko shrugged, “This is not Teikō anymore. I can’t handle Seirin the same way I handled those from Teikō. It would be unfair and . . . probably counter-productive at this point.”

Midorima shrugged, readjusting his glasses. “I told you that you should have chosen a _better_ team.”

Seirin bristled at those words, but, before any of them could speak, Kuroko did. “Shintarō!“ he called warningly, eyes narrowed. “I believe I gave you all _several_ valid reasons for my choice after you all found out. Seirin is conveniently close to my home, and I do have to take care of Obā-san.”

Midorima sighed, “Yes, yes. I know. But still. Why not Tōō instead?“

“Why?“ Kuroko hummed, “Easy. Because I might have snapped Imayoshi Shūichi’s neck the first week into my stay . . .“

“ ** _Or . . ._ ** you would have teamed up with him,“ Midorima pointed out realistically, “which would have, in turn, driven _Dai_ mad. He already whines awful lot about Imayoshi anyway.”

Kuroko hummed, amusement flashing in his eyes, “See, Shintarō? I did all of us a favour by avoiding that and not choosing Tōō.”

Midorima sighed, “Probably. _Still_ . . . I hope he’s coming back soon. You know, if it wasn’t for _him_ , Sei wouldn’t have even entertained the idea of letting you choose a no-name school like Seirin.”

Kuroko hummed, rolling his eyes, “Yes, yes. Alas, I am _here_ and nothing will change that. As for Daiki . . . I’ll handle him. The last thing we need is for Kagami-kun and Daiki to kill each other before the Interhigh Finals.”

Midorima snorted, throwing a look at Kagami, “You know . . . just because he got lucky and was able to block my shot doesn’t mean he’s at Dai’s level. Dai will _crush_ him and sit on his bones, sipping his water.”

Kuroko hummed, “Ah, I’ll let them have fun for now. And if you’re right — which I _doubt_ because Kagami-kun _is_ skilled . . . then it will just mean I’ll have to handle Daiki myself, during the Winter Cup.”

Midorima snorted, “Being skilled and being like _us_ are entirely different things, Tetsu, and you know it. Watch and see. Stay back. Don’t play for the rest of the Interhigh, I dare you. Watch them play, and watch them fall. And _then_ , play at the Winter Cup as you would with _us_ . . . with _him_ back, it might not be as hard . . . and see the _difference_.”

Before Kuroko could speak again, Midorima whirled on his heels and strode out with Kazunari hurrying after him.

Kuroko rolled his eyes, “He’s being overdramatic again. Ryōta . . .“

“Wh-what?“ the blonde squawked.

“You’re forbidden from meeting Shintarō any more this month. Your dramatics seem to be contagious. It’s _unhealthy_ ,” he said darkly.

 _“TETSUCCHI!”_ the blonde whined, offended.

Seirin — still offended by Midorima’s words and quietly stewing in their rage — and Kasamatsu could do nothing but _stare_ at the two of them. (A little while later, not even the cute, Kuroko-looking puppy, which aforementioned Miracle would find, would make Seirin forget their rage.)

Kuroko sighed as he walked away from the swimming pool. Now that Kagami had been forbidden to practice, the redhead had wandered off instead. Kuroko himself was tired but not as badly as he would have been on a normal practice day. He had noticed that Coach had been giving him odd looks from time to time. Instead of making him train with the team, she just dropped him a few tips on what he _might want_ to work on, and that was it. After that, she always left him to his own devices. It was a strange thing to do — especially from her. He hadn’t known Aida for long, but she came off as an efficient, goal-oriented person who enjoyed what she was doing and knew how to motivate (and discipline) her players.

Kuroko shook his head and sighed. What Aida did and did not do was hardly his concern. At least working like this meant he had more freedom to train with the others. Aomine and Kise were close enough and always ready to help — and from time to time, he even managed to meet up with Midorima to play shogi and discuss the latest books they’d been reading.

Today was no different. Aomine had texted him that he was waiting at the nearby street court to train. Kuroko hummed, shaking his head amusedly. All his “siblings“ were sticking with the notion that Kagami was too weak of a partner for him. Sure, Kagami was not on the level of Aomine — and was miles away from _Akashi_ — but the redhead wasn’t bad. Plus, Kiyoshi would come back soon. Even if he could not use all his tricks with Kagami right now, he would still have Kiyoshi. He was a Center but had an offensive enough style to work with Kuroko when needed.

Kuroko paused when he noticed that Aomine wasn’t the only person on the court. Across from his brother stood Kagami-kun. The closer he walked, the better Kuroko could see, and he could see that the redhead was exhausted and breathing harshly. Aomine was standing across from Kagami, his dark blue eyes flickering to the hoop, before he looked back at the other player.

“Did you really beat Shin? Shūtoku must have had a very bad day then . . .”

 _“Bastard . . .”_ Kagami growled. Kuroko slipped closer to the two of them, still unnoticed, just in case he had to stop them from tearing each other apart. Kagami was hot-headed enough to pounce on Aomine, and his brother was possessive and protective enough to fight back and potentially tear Kagami to shreds.

“Tetsu’s judgement must be clouded,“ Aomine said, his tone sharp and bored at the same time. Kuroko rolled his eyes — that combination was exactly what pushed Kagami’s buttons, and it seemed his brother had realized that. “You can’t draw out his full potential,“ Kuroko rolled his eyes again, because, of course, Aomine would give that speech to Kagami. Still, he didn’t interfere . . . yet. “Tetsu’s a Shadow. The stronger the light, the darker the shadow. In other words, he becomes stronger or weaker depending on the strength of the Light.”

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed. He could see the moment Aomine moved to dash past Kagami, but Kagami himself seemed to be rooted to the spot. Aomine’s words seemed to be impossibly ominous and belittling at the same time. Typical of Aomine . . .

“Your light . . . is _too dim_ ,” he said, and by the time Kagami turned around, Aomine had already released the ball to score. As always, it went in.

Kagami turned to look at Aomine with wide eyes, while the Tōō student’s eyes were burning with contempt. Aomine moved to catch the ball again, which had bounced back after reaching the floor.

“Daiki, _enough_.”

Both Power Forwards turned to see Kuroko walking onto the court, his face blank as always, yet his tone was sharp.

“Tetsu,“ Aomine greeted, lips pulling into a grin. “What brings you here?“

Kuroko sighed, “As if you don’t know, Daiki. Must you taunt him? He’s injured already.“

Aomine rolled his eyes, scoffing down on Kagami, “Injury or no injury, _his light is too dim for you_ , and we _both_ know it!”

“And we both know _why_ I chose Seirin as my school,“ Kuroko returned calmly, not denying nor supporting Aomine’s words. (His smooth avoidance of responding to Aomine’s claim didn’t escape Kagami’s attention, and he wondered what Kuroko was thinking.) The redhead also wondered what there was between these two, considering that Kuroko had yet to share anything of his past with the Miracles.

Aomine scoffed, “Yeah, yeah. Will _he_ be around by the time we play?“

Kuroko shook his head, “No, sadly not. He has not recovered enough yet. But the surgery went well, and he will return to playing this year. He will never be able to play professionally, but he can play through High School, and, if he takes care of himself, perhaps even afterwards too. He should be here by the Winter Cup, though.”

Aomine hummed, nodding, “Good. Would have been a shame if he could only watch us play, and then I would totally insist on you leaving Seirin. He . . .“ he jabbed a finger at Kagami, “ _is too weak for you_.”

Kuroko groaned again, “I thought we already had a conversation about you being too possessive.”

Kagami choked at hearing that and looked between the two blue-haired males with shocked eyes.

Aomine’s eyes went wide, “Oi, Tetsu! Don’t be a little shit, and _don’t_ make it sound as if we’re _dating_ or something!”

Kuroko snorted, his eyes narrowing dangerously, “Don’t be _disgusting_ , Daiki. We’re brothers, of course we’re _not_ dating! Damn, where did you even get the idea I was implying that from? I’m very much straight, _thank you_.“

Aomine scoffed, “And so I am. We both know that, but _he_ . . .“ he jabbed another finger at Kagami, “obviously does _not_ , because he totally thought you meant it _that_ _way_!”

Kuroko threw an icy glance at Kagami, who squawked at the sight and took a step back, “For the sake of our current partnership and friendship, I will disregard that assumption, Kagami-kun.“

Kagami swallowed hard, fidgeting, “Uh . . . thanks, I guess?“ he muttered awkwardly.

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed on the redhead, “However, I believe that kantoku told you not to train. You’re still injured.“

“I . . .”

“I won’t tell her — but if she notices anyway, then that’s your problem,“ the Phantom warned. Kagami nodded mutely. “Good . . . in that case, please go back to the gym. Kantoku gave me leave to go and train on my own, and that is what I intend to do.”

“With _him_ here?” Kagami growled, jabbing a finger back at Aomine.

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed, “I need a partner to train, and you are injured. Just because we currently wear different colours and step onto the court on different sides does not mean we are any less a team. Once of Teikō...”

“ . . . is always of Teikō,“ Aomine finished, throwing Kagami a dark look. “We split up officially, but that does not mean we stopped playing with each other altogether or that we’re any less siblings for it. Now _piss off_. We’ve got training to do. Gods know that the only one who can give me some fun these days — and that is close enough to be worth the trek — is Tetsu, anyway.“

Kagami glared at Aomine and then looked at Kuroko, “Seirin isn’t going to be happy, if they find out . . .”

“Kantoku gave me permission to leave, and Seirin should _not_ concern themselves with what I do in my free time,“ Kuroko returned icily. “Here’s a deal, Kagami-kun. I will not tell anyone you’ve been training and practicing. Or even that you were foolish enough to _challenge_ Daiki — or just accept his challenge, since I’ve no idea which one of you’d started this — while injured, possibly worsening your condition. In exchange, you will not tell the team that I’m here with him. Is it a deal?”

Kagami frowned but one look at the dark, yet blank expression on Kuroko was enough to make the redhead back off. The look in those clear blue eyes sent a dreadful shiver down his spine — he’d never seen Kuroko look like this before.

“It is, Kuroko,“ he growled out at last.

Kuroko nodded, “Good. I’m glad we could come to a mutual agreement. Please go back to the gym before you further anger the senpai with your disappearing act,” he said, his tone now back to the normal, feather-light calmness.

The redhead rolled his eyes and then marched off, muttering to himself.

Aomine scoffed as he started dribbling the ball he’d been holding all throughout Kuroko’s little speech. “Seriously, I hope Kiysohi comes around soon. That guy’s too weak for you. Plus Seirin doesn't know shit about you,“ he tossed the ball to Kuroko.

Kuroko caught it without a blink and started dribbling. “You keep forgetting, Dai,“ he said softly, “Seirin knows as much about me as _I want_ them to know about me, and about **_us_ ** as a whole. No more, no less,” he moved towards the hoop behind Aomine, who immediately grabbed for the ball. Kuroko dodged him using Vanishing Drive, and then he scored with a Phantom Shot.

Aomine laughed, “Got you fired up, Tetsu?”

The Phantom shrugged, as he grabbed the ball and tossed it back to Aomine. “Maybe.”

Aomine spun the ball on his finger, before he dropped it and started dribbling. “I guess . . . you haven’t told Seirin that you were our Vice-Cap?”

“Iie, I hadn’t. But that’s hardly relevant nowadays, is it, Dai?“ he asked.

Aomine snorted and then got ready for another round, “That depends on the perspective, Tetsu.”

They spent the afternoon training and laughing together. When Kuroko could not stand on his own anymore, Aomine hauled him up from the ground and invited him to dinner. They spent the night watching TV until they fell asleep next to each other.

* * *

**Episodes 15-18** **_(Tōō VS Seirin, Inter-High)_ **

Aomine sighed as he walked through the corridor towards the stadium. A match against Seirin . . . meant that Tetsu was standing on the other side of the court for the first time — officially — ever since they met. It felt _unnatural_ because Tetsu was his brother, _his Shadow._ (Kagami was too weak for Tetsu, and his brief encounter with him on the street court was all the proof he needed.)

When they all had split up, the choice had hurt deeply . . . but at the same time, it was the only way — the only way for them to keep enjoying the game, the only way to avoid Teikō’s Third Year continuously repeating itself even in High School.

He walked onto the court. Or rather, he stopped by Tōō’s bench and dropped his bag on it. Tōō froze and eyed him as if he’d grown another head.

“Aomine?“ Susa asked, raising an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?“

Aomine blinked at the older player and gestured at the court, “Come to play basketball, of course. We’re about to start now — or did I get the time wrong?“

“Nope, Dai,“ Momoi chimed in smiling, “you’re just on time.”

Imayoshi adjusted his glasses, eyeing him sharply, “And what prompted you to come _on time_ for once?“

Aomine glanced towards Seirin’s side, where his gaze met Kuroko’s. Kuroko wasn’t too far away and was warming up with the rest of Seirin, dribbling a ball. Just by looking at the teal-haired boy, Aomine could tell his Shadow was itching to let loose and go all out but would not actually do so. Not without being forced to — and even then, it would not work out. Not with Kagami as his partner.

“Tetsu. Tetsu’s playing,“ he said, nodding towards the Phantom.

“And why does that matter?“ Wakamatsu asked.

“Why?“ Aomine echoed sharply and then snorted. “ _Why_ . . . you ask. When — if Tetsu lets loose and I’m not here to stop him, he’s going to walk all over you. Besides if — when — he gets serious, that’s when the game’s about to turn fun. He may or may not play seriously today, but it would be a shame to miss it if he turns serious.”

Several people bristled when the words sunk in. Wakamatsu glared heatedly at the Power Forward. “Are you saying we couldn’t deal with _him_?”

“You underestimate us, Aomine-kun,“ Imayoshi said smoothly.

Aomine scoffed, “No. You are all fools . . . _degraded fools, Imayoshi,_ who shouldn‘t even step onto a court if you don’t believe me about this. Tetsu . . . give him a proper partner, not that weakling Kagami . . . give him a proper partner, and they will destroy whoever gets in his way. I’m the only one who can deal with Tetsu, and I’ll do just that. So don’t stand in the way of my fun, fuckers.”

Tōō seethed and bristled, but Aomine ignored them all as he moved towards their hoop to warm up and score a few before starting. He stopped halfway there when he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He stopped, his eyes settling on a certain teal-haired player. Kuroko’s eyes were narrowed and a frown decorated his features for a millisecond, before it was back to his usual blankness.

Uh, had Kuroko heard what he’d said to Tōō just now? (It was all true, but . . . hopefully not. Kuroko could take these sorts of things awfully seriously, and he didn’t want to piss off the teal-haired boy. A pissed off Kuroko Tetsuya equaled a _massacre_.) He nodded to Kuroko and sneered at Kagami before turning away. 

Time to get ready for some fun.

Kuroko felt a spark of satisfaction as he snatched the ball from Tōō — away from Sakurai, to be precise. The shock on the shy Shooting Guard’s face made him want to laugh and apologise at the same time. Moving around Tōō was tricky.

Imayoshi and Aomine had the easiest time seeing him, so he had to change tactics slightly, which he had warned Seirin about. Seirin agreed but couldn’t see the whole picture, the whole pattern, just yet — not that Kuroko was too bothered. This was a tactic he and his Teikō teammates had worked out during their Third Year when they were playing against each other for practice (by their Third Year in Teikō, they could only find decent practice playing against each other — the rest of the Club had long given up trying — and against their friends (family?) when playing on the street courts). It wasn’t perfect. He would definitely need some extra help if he wanted to use this more successfully during the Winter Cup, but, for now, it would do.

He moved closer, passing to Kagami. Kagami caught it and shifted to dribble and sprint towards Tōō’s basket, but Aomine was there in a flash. “I told you,“ he called sharply, gaining everyone’s attention, even if only for a moment, “Your light’s too dim for Tetsu! _You’re weak_ , and no one in Seirin can see your pattern either!“

The two of them struggled for the ball as both sides watched tensely, but then, in an impressive show of skill, Aomine took possession of the ball and dodged past Kagami, who cursed. He stumbled over his own feet as he tried to keep up with Aomine, but anyone who was watching could clearly see which of them had superior skills.

Aomine dodged past both Hyūga and Izuki with little struggle, only for the ball to suddenly disappear from under his fingers. Everyone gasped as they noticed Kuroko — who’d slipped away from Imayoshi’s surveillance (and the Third Year had yet to figure out _how was that possible_ ) — who now had the ball.

Aomine immediately rounded to face the Phantom, a grin spreading across his face, as Kuroko’s eyes narrowed on the Power Forward, “Finally kicking up your game a notch, Tetsu? C’mon, give me some fun . . . we both know you won’t win . . .”

“I have some things to say about that, Daiki,“ the Phantom retorted as he whirled around to move towards Tōō’s side, Aomine hot on his heels. The Power Forward blocked the Phantom, trying to take the ball, only for Kuroko to pass it behind his back and catch it with his free hand, preventing Aomine from snatching it away.

“You can try, Tetsu!“ Aomine said, still grinning. “But c’mon, we both know that you’ve been holding back all this time! Holding back for so long does more damage than good, and Seirin’s just too _weak_ for you. Should you use more than just the foundation of your skills — well, then Seirin would end up with broken bones . . . not that you can use _more than_ basics. They — _Kagami_ — are _too weak_ to properly play with you.”

“And you’re being overdramatic again,“ he stated, dodging past Aomine — which shocked everyone present — and moving towards the basket. Several people — especially Seirin — wondered what he was planning since, for all they knew, he couldn’t score. (Aomine, who knew very differently, was feeling a silver of panic crawl up his spine.)

But at the last minute, as Aomine caught up with the Shadow, Kuroko smirked and passed backwards to Kagami, who’d been following them at a slower rate, hindered by his injury. Kagami caught the pass. Aomine scowled, springing from his spot to block Kagami’s move.

Aomine caught the ball, and the two Power Forwards struggled for dominance for only a moment. “I told you, you’re too weak for Tetsu!”

Aomine overwhelmed Kagami, and the redhead fell to the floor as the dark-skinned teen passed to Susa, who immediately moved to score. Kagami landed sooner than Aomine with a sharp cry leaving his lips. Aomine started to move back to offence but was interrupted by the buzzer, signalling the end of the first quarter.

Both teams froze in their movement, Susa skidding to a halt even before he could raise the ball to score. Kuroko cursed himself and sighed in relief at the same time.

Both teams moved towards their side, and Seirin was giving Kuroko a few surprised and suspicious looks. They’d never seen him play like this before.

“I . . . I thought Misdirection doesn’t work, when you have the ball?“ Koganei asked as they all took a drink.

“It does not,“ the Phantom murmured softly. “But it would be a waste of my energy to try and use it against Daiki,“ he said, his eyes trained on Tōō. Meanwhile, Seirin shared confused looks, because reserved, polite Kuroko was calling someone — _Aomine_ no less — by their given name. (They had a feeling that something was up with the _Kiseki no Sedai_ , they just didn’t know what. After all, Kuroko hadn’t shared anything about his days at Teikō other than the fact that the team swept in victory after victory. But that was nothing new, they’d already known that.)

“And why is that?“ Tsuchida asked.

Kuroko wiped his face. “He can follow me. If I don’t want him to see me, he can’t . . . but . . .“

“Are you _allowing_ him to see you?!” Kagami growled.

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed on his partner. “If I were to play at the level I used to at Teikō . . . _you would not be able to keep up,_ Kagami-kun. Certainly not while you’re injured, and you are very much injured. In that one respect, Daiki was correct. I can only play as well as my partner does. If I were to try outmaneuvering you in your condition, and with the others not knowing what to expect, we’d fall apart at the seams. They would win without Daiki even having to move a finger. I was on the First String, just like Daiki and Ryōta and Shintarō. The six of us were a team . . . but I can only play as well as my partner. Any further attempt to play may injure Seirin’s players, and we’re already in trouble because you are injured. Any more injured players than this and we can absolutely say goodbye to the Interhigh right here and now. Do you understand now?”

Seirin froze up, staring wide-eyed at the Phantom.

“You’re sitting out for the rest of the game, Kagami,“ Aida ordered sharply.

“Y-you were on the First String of Te-Teikō?!” Furihata gaped. Actually, all the members of Seirin looked like gaping fish.

“The _Kiseki no Sedai_ were the First String of Teikō,“ Kuroko said, his tone even. “I might have been — and still am — called a Phantom . . . but that’s because _I wanted to be_. This is how I play. I know those five as well as they know me. We were a team, and we all still have our skills. But unlike them, I’m a bit more dependent on my partner and my team, due to the very nature of Misdirection and passing. And right now, Kagami-kun, your recklessness and injury hinders not only me on the court, but everyone else. We cannot play as we usually do, because you cannot keep up. I can stop Daiki, yes, but that is of little importance if you do not have the speed and jumping power to keep up with, or even with the rest of us, the moment I take the ball from him.”

Everyone was quiet and staring at the teal with wide eyes. Aida was the first one to snap out of her shock (partly because she already knew Kuroko had been a starter of Teikō). “Alright, change of plans. Kagami’s sitting out. He can’t play any more. I shouldn’t have even allowed him to play this first half,” she glared at the redhead and pushed him to sit on the bench.

“So . . . what do we do now?“ Mitobe asked quietly, surprising everyone. They glanced at their quiet teammate and then at each other.

Aida seemed to hesitate only for a moment, “Here’s the plan . . .”

* * *

**Post-Episode 18:** **“No!!”**

Kuroko sighed as they sat in the locker room. He had expected to lose, what with Kagami injured and Seirin a mess . . . but perhaps shocking them with his First String status at that exact moment hadn’t been the best idea. The team had indeed fallen apart at the seams, just as he’d predicted, with no one capable of keeping up with the erratic pace Aomine had set. Well, he had stolen the ball from his brother a few times, preventing several baskets by his (former) Light . . . but that hadn’t been enough. The rest of Tōō were tough too, and without Kagami, Seirin's offensive capabilities had been seriously decreased.

Still, the score had been shocking. Well, for Seirin. Actually . . . even Tōō looked taken aback by the mad pace Aomine had dictated after Kagami was benched.

**112 — 55**

Seirin had been crushed. Kuroko frowned inwardly. Sure, he knew Aomine wasn’t happy with Kagami being his partner, but this protective — borderline _possessive_ behaviour was ridiculous, even for him. Sure, Aomine had always been . . . what one might call a “possessive friend,” but he had never bothered anyone this much. Now, Kuroko had realised that the only reason Aomine had been like _this_ was because, at first, Kagami had excited him. Eventually, though, Kagami disappointed him when he didn’t meet whatever expectations Aomine had.

But Aomine had definitely set his expectations high . . . considering their circle of friends and said friends’ skill and involvement with basketball.

Looking around the locker, Kuroko noted the deathly silence. Everyone was downtrodden, but Kagami seemed to be the worst off. “Kagami-kun ...”

“Leave me, Kuroko,“ he insisted, and then, he walked off.

Slowly, Seirin all gathered their possessions. The senpai were staring after Kagami. “Will he be . . . okay?“ Kawahara asked quietly.

“Probably,” Hyūga murmured, looking at Kuroko.

“Kuroko . . . why didn't you say anything?“

“About what?“

“About being on the First String . . .”

“Where I stand — stood — with the _Kiseki no Sedai_ does not matter. This is not Teikō and basketball is a team sport. You may have noticed that Daiki set an erratic pace, but he did, in a way, still play with his team. Anyone who is foolish enough to play basketball individually . . .“ he shook his head.

“Where you stand with them does matter, if it affects how you . . .” Aida started. Suddenly, Kuroko’s eyes narrowed on her.

“It does _not_ affect how I play. You do not know what happened in Teikō, nor do you know why we split up. _Do not_ assume you know us from only a few fancy headlines, kantoku. We take each other seriously. We are aware of what each of us are capable of and what our weaknesses are. We always prepare, and this match was no different. I prepared and so did Daiki and Satsuki. This time, though, the odds were in their favour,” he said quietly and then walked off.

He turned towards Tōō’s lockers with a sigh. Ah, as much as he liked playing with Seirin, especially after being with them for these few months . . . sometimes, it was difficult. Sometimes, he forgot he was no longer in Teikō, and that he no longer had his position and the prestige of being part of the first-string team. It was odd, getting used to the fact that he no longer could speak up whenever he wished. More than once, he’d had to stop himself from saying something that likely would have been considered out of turn by the senpai. So instead, he chose to stay quiet, observe, and quietly turn the game in Seirin’s favour when he could, based on a strategy they used at Teikō. Of course, Seirin had not really noticed how strategic his passing was, that he was two steps ahead of them at all times, but that didn’t matter.

As long as it helped the team improve, it was okay. And maybe this loss would help them improve too. Today was just a taste of Kuroko’s own lesson, he thought wistfully — a reminder of loss for the one who had reminded the others.

_‘No one is absolute and victory is not guaranteed. Failure is inevitable but standing up from loss may — will lead to improvement as long as one is committed to their goal.‘_

He was snapped out of his musings, when he heard the commotion from Tōō’s locker. The door was half-open, so he could see several players, but most notably Aomine, holding a bento box. It was a bento that Kuroko didn’t recognise, so he was sure it wasn’t Momoi’s or Aomine’s own.

“A-aomine-san . . .” a shy, yet sharp voice called, and Kuroko slipped closer to see the team’s Shooting Guard look at his brother with wide eyes — sad and offended at the same time.

“Oi, you bastard, that’s Sakurai’s bento. Get your own!“ Wakamatsu called, and Kuroko frowned as he leaned against the doorframe, letting the door slip open more.

“ _Daiki_ ,“ he called, his tone light as a feather in the wind, yet sharp like a blade.

Everyone in the locker froze and looked towards him. Kuroko noticed Tōō’s coach move, his mouth opening (probably ready to tell him that he shouldn’t be here), but Kuroko spoke first instead, his eyes narrowing on the box held by his brother. “That’s not your bento.” 

It wasn’t a question and everyone noticed that.

Aomine huffed, “No, it’s not.”

Kuroko slipped into the room, soundless like the shadow he was, and tugged the box from his hand. “You should not take it, then. Or are you turning into a second Haizaki, now that we’re no longer in Teikō? Not to mention that Sakurai-kun is your _teammate_.”

Aomine huffed, glaring, “Ooi, Tetsu! I’m _nothing_ like Haizaki! He was a certified bastard!” then in a much lower tone, he added, “Besides, Sakurai’s good at cooking. Almost as good as you.”

“Yet you are acting the way _he_ would have,“ the Phantom returned coolly and offered the box back to the stupefied Sakurai. “Here.”

Sakurai blinked and then took the box with a shy, yet surprisingly wide smile. He bowed, “Arigato gozaimasu.”

Kuroko looked back at Aomine, “Now please apologise. That’s not how you treat a teammate, and if you’d asked him nicely, he may have shared. Besides that, do you not cook anymore?“

Aomine rolled his eyes and grunted again, “I do, when I have time. But I’ve been busy, and Kā-san’s not home . . . plus letting Satsuki into the kitchen equals a natural disaster. I will _not_ let her burn down the kitchen. That would be expensive.”

Tōō blinked at that, some even gaping, mostly because no one could imagine _Aomine Daiki_ standing in the kitchen wearing an apron with a ladle or chopsticks in hand and _cooking_ . (Aomine and cooking just didn’t seem _compatible_ in the team’s minds, and yet...)

Kuroko hummed, “Still, you should not have taken it without consent. Apologise to him.“

Tōō stood wide-eyed because there was no way Aomine was going to apologise. In fact, Susa and Imayoshi stood at the ready to drag Kuroko away from Aomine, just in case the Ace snapped at the teal for being ordered around (after all, he did that to everyone). However, to the utter astonishment of everyone — Imayoshi and the coach included — Aomine looked at Sakurai and gave a tiny bow.

“Gomen, Sakurai. Shouldn’t have taken it.”

Sakurai’s eyes went wide and, for a long moment, he just stared at Aomine, not quite comprehending the situation. (He was alone in that.) After a moment, the Shooting Guard snapped out of his daze and shook his head, “Aah, no harm done, Aomine-san.”

Kuroko hummed, narrowing his eyes on Aomine. “How many times have you done that, hmm?“

“Uh . . .” Aomine took a wary step back, “Tetsu . . .”

“How many times have you taken his bento?“ he asked frostily.

Aomine swallowed, “ _Eeh~_ thrice, I guess? Okay, sorry I shouldn't have . . .“

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed even more, and Aomine immediately clamped his mouth shut. Tōō were staring disbelievingly at the quiet, invisible Seirin player who was reprimanding their unruly Ace as if he were a child. “You _should not have_ , indeed. So . . . in exchange, you’re going to bring Sakurai-kun three bentos for three days, starting with your next practice. And I _will_ know if you don’t _or_ if you dare to skip, just to avoid it. Are we clear?“

Aomine paled several shades and nodded, “Hai.”

“Now, with one issue resolved . . . I think we can turn to the reason why I came.”

Aomine swallowed hard again but then scoffed anger sparking in his dark blue eyes, “They . . .” he pointed to the rest of Tōō but most notably at Imayoshi and Wakamatsu, “were being jerks. You didn’t hear what they’d said about you, and I wasn’t about to let the bastard get away with . . . !”

“Daiki.”

That single, soft word cut the Power Forward off — to the utter astonishment of Tōō who, by now, stopped even trying to gather their jaws up off the floor.

“I have a feeling you had a good reason to be defending me, but, at the same time, you should be used to me being underestimated. You should also know by now that I do not care for the opinion of those who are not close to me. First and foremost, you should not have been disrespectful to your senpai and especially not to your _Captain_ . . .“ he glanced at Imayoshi, sizing him up for a second “. . . we both know that his doubt was not the offensive kind of underestimation. Therefore, your words were rude and uncalled for.”

Aomine’s eyes narrowed, his twitching hands revealing his growing frustration, but instead of lashing out at the Phantom, as many expected, he took a deep breath and released it a moment later. He was still frowning a little but was much calmer.

Kuroko inclined his head towards Tōō’s Captain, not taking his eyes off of Aomine. Aomine scoffed, understanding the wordless request. “No. Forget it, Tetsu. _No_. Not to him.”

“ _Now_ , Daiki,“ he insisted, his tone dropping even more and threatening to freeze the locker room. Several people inched farther away from him, eyeing the Seirin player warily.

Aomine murmured a few curses under his breath but, a moment later, dipped his head towards Imayoshi, “Sorry. I might have been harsh . . . back there.”

Imayoshi blinked, and then a smile overtook his face as he adjusted his glasses, “It’s quite alright, Aomine-kun. Let’s call it pre-game anxiety, and forget it happened.”

That was when Momoi came back. She froze before a huge smile overtook her face, “Tetsu!”

Everyone glanced at her, but before the Phantom could greet her back, she flew at him, hugging him tightly. Kuroko hummed and hugged her back for a moment, before they separated, “No need to act as if you hadn’t seen me in a decade, Tsuki. We attend different schools, we don’t live on a different continent.”

The bubbly girl shrugged, “I know, but I miss you still. It’s odd not having you around, you know~! What are you doing here, anyway?“

“Ah, I just thought I should use the opportunity to invite the two of you for dinner, if you have the time. Considering you won the match, I owe Dai food anyway, and it’s much more wallet-friendly if I cook.”

Momoi beamed, glancing at Aomine. Aomine’s eyes glinted, “Eh, the victory’s all the sweeter now. Your cooking still takes the gold, Tetsu. Count me in.”

Momoi beamed, clapping excitedly, “I’ve got to agree with Dai! We’ll be there by . . . will seven be alright?“

Kuroko nodded, “Yes, that’s fine.”

Momoi nodded, “Good. Come on Dai, or we’ll be late for the appointment . . .”

Aomine’s eyes went wide, and he grabbed his bag, “ _Shit!_ See ya tonight, Tetsu!”

With that, both Aomine and Momoi bolted out of the locker room. The Ace’s curses echoed down the corridor as Momoi scolded him for not keeping track of time.

Tōō’s eyes turned to Seirin’s Phantom. It was their coach who spoke up this time, “I’ve never seen anyone handle Aomine so easily. How did you do that?“

Kuroko hummed, “Mutual respect and understanding.“

And with those words, Kuroko was gone, leaving gaping, wide-eyed Tōō players behind him, some of them even choking or pinching themselves, because _this could not be happening . . ._

When Tōō had morning practice a few days later, Aomine turned up only half an hour late — which was, by far, the earliest the team had ever seen him in the gym, if he even bothered coming at all (he rarely ever _bothered_ coming to morning practice).

The team froze, eyeing their Ace and wondering what had happened to him to make him come here. “Hm, good morning, Aomine,” the coach called.

Aomine gave a small nod, “Morning, kantoku,“ he responded absentmindedly, his eyes seeking someone out.

“What brings you here?“ Imayoshi called. “And where’d you leave Momoi-chan?”

Aomine huffed, “She’s busy spying on me, thinking I don’t know _she’s watching_ . . .“ he raised his voice pointedly, glaring towards the other door of the room. Tōō all turned to find their manager standing by the other door, watching Aomine searchingly. The Ace rolled his eyes as he reached into his bag.

“Morning, mina-san,“ the manager greeted with a small smile, while her dark pink eyes were still trained on Aomine.

“You should be more inconspicuous, Satsuki,“ the Ace grunted, “How the hell do you do scouting like this?”

Momoi rolled her eyes, “Ah, isn’t ‘inconspicuous’ a big word for you, _Nī-san_?“

Aomine glared at her half-heartedly, before offering a bento to Sakurai. His eyes, though, were still trained on her, “Here. See? I brought it. You can go and report to Tetsu that yes, I’ve brought the food, and that I’ll do so tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. And then we’ll be done with it.”

The girl smirked and snapped a picture of the two players with her phone, “Tetsu will be happy that you’re learning a lesson. And . . .” her eyes landed on Sakurai, “don’t worry, Sakurai-kun. It’s safe to eat. Dai’s mom is an excellent cook, and so is Tetsu. And Dai learned from his mom and Tetsu.” 

She whirled on her heels, giggling as she skipped away, muttering something about pictures, food, and manager work.

Sakurai blinked at Aomine, “Eeh, thank you Aomine-san . . . but I have my own bento,“

Aomine frowned, “Look, I’m doing this because I wanna stay alive. Tetsu’s very capable of killing people with a feather-light smile on his face. He learned that from our ex-Captain . . . and, mind you, Akashi Seijūrō is not someone you piss off. Neither is Tetsu. Piss off one of them, and you’re likelier to survive in Hell than survive whatever they have in mind for you. And they know things. Always. Especially Akashi . . . but Tetsu’s got it too . . . So, save me the trouble, and take the food, Sakurai. I don’t want to die. Sei’s in Kyoto with Rakuzan, but Tetsu lives only a few blocks away from me. He’ll find me and skin me alive . . . so just _keep quiet and take the damn bento_ . It’s _not_ poisoned, I swear. I don’t cook like Satsuki.”

Sakurai blinked owlishly and then took the box, “Uuh, thank you then. But . . . you won’t have a bento, then.“

Aomine shrugged, turning away, “I’ll just eat out.”

Sakurai fiddled a bit, “Maybe you could have mine? I brought one.”

Aomine huffed, “You cook fine, almost as good as Tetsu, _really_ . But I got into trouble with Tetsu ‘cause I took your bento before. Tetsu’s really capable of killing people, and as I said, _I don’t want_ to die. I’m too young for that. As I said, Sei . . . and Tetsu too . . . _know things_. He will know if I eat that.”

Sakurai hummed, “But two bento is too much for me, and I’m sure Kuroko-san wouldn’t say anything if I told him I gave it to you because I wanted to.”

Aomine eyed the Shooting Guard thoughtfully, “Fine . . . but don’t say I didn’t warn you. As much as I respect Sei, he can sometimes be . . . difficult. There’s a reason why Teikō called him ‘devil’ and ‘Emperor,’ ya know? Tetsu learned one too many things from him . . .”

That day, Aomine actually bothered to stay for the entire practice. And Sakurai, curious what the food he’d gotten was like, took a taste. The shy Shooting Guard ended up smiling and sparkling — surprising everyone, with only Aomine seeming unaffected — as he looked at the Ace.

“This is _delicious_ , Aomine-san! I didn’t know you were this good at cooking!”

Aomine shrugged as he opened the bento he’d gotten from Sakurai, “I had good teachers. And it certainly helps that both my mother and Tetsu are damn saints. Patient as hell. Took me much longer to learn to cook than to learn basketball . . . but it wasn’t that bad, I guess.”

Sakurai hummed and then dug in.

That day, Aomine gained a new friend.

A week after the “food exchange” days that Kuroko forced Aomine to do, Sakurai offered his bento to Aomine in exchange for Aomine’s own. And after that . . . the two of them somehow ended up switching bento twice a week. Or, sometimes, both of them would bring in some extra food with them and half it. They both got to eat from their own and from the other’s bento as well. Tōō could do nothing but _stare_.

(Some of them panicked, because Aomine was enough of an annoying oddball already . . . and it seemed Sakurai was slowly absorbing Aomine’s oddness too. Or maybe the shy boy was just growing a backbone? _[He had, after all, glared at one of his classmates who had tried to take his bento, which had been made by Aomine. Susa had just happened to pass by the younger’s homeroom at the right moment and witnessed the whole scene. It had ended up with Aomine punching one of the guys and threatening them to never attempt to take Sakurai’s food, otherwise they would “end up with a few broken bones and damn the consequences,'' as he had said.]_ Who knew. It was odd to watch them interact anyway . . . but it had the positive side effect of Aomine turning up more regularly for at least half of their training sessions, even if only because Sakurai somehow bribed him with food . . .)

* * *

**Episode 19:** **“On to a New Challenge“**

**_(_ ** **_Note_ ** **_that in this story, Kuroko and Kiyoshi DO NOT MEET in the gym the night before, mainly because Kuroko does not stay behind. So Kiyoshi being introduced to the First Years, with all the team present, is his FIRST appearance.)_ **

Kuroko had been a bit worried when Kagami refused to turn up for practice. Had . . . had Aomine’s game broken him? Damn, that wasn’t good. Was it because they’d lost the match, or was it because now Kagami knew of his perfectly content, happy friendship and brotherhood with Aomine?

Kuroko frowned inwardly. Damn. That was not good. The _Kiseki no Sedai_ had good reasons to split up, and there was no hostility among the six (seven) of them, despite what some people may think. And now that he thought about it . . . he had not shared that much with Seirin about his time in Teikō. They knew he’d played in games, and now they knew that he was, in fact, **_part_ ** of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ , even if the world had forgotten him.

The world may forget, but those who mattered will never forget, so Kuroko didn’t mind. He was proud of having been on the same team as the other five far more than he coveted any title. They, at least, always made sure to include him when they spoke about the Teikō team and made sure the world — or at least the teams they currently played for — would remember the Phantom Sixth.

He frowned a bit as he heard about the Winter Cup. He had no intention of letting the team lose again, but . . . what was he supposed to do?

Seirin still didn’t know who he had been (who he still **_was_** , because the _Kiseki_ , himself included, still thought of themselves as an active team, and they phrased their words accordingly) in Teikō. They didn’t know his full capabilities, mostly because they were not yet strong enough to handle them. But Kiyoshi would be coming back soon, if Shin and Sei’s words were correct which meant that he could play a bit more freely during the Winter Cup. His siblings knew what he was capable of, but their teams didn’t (save for Rakuzan), so he would still have the element of surprise most of the time.

But while he wouldn’t let the team lose, it was clear as day that his senpai had great pressure on their shoulders. And Kagami being stuck in his mood and unable to work with him wasn’t exactly . . . encouraging.

But it seemed that his team was more worried about the coach making them confess naked on the roof. (Something which Kuroko was sure he could avoid, even if the worst came to pass. His low presence did wonders in situations like that. Plus, if his coach _dared_ to make him do something like that, the others would kill her, and no amount of pleading from Kiyoshi would save her life, so . . .)

His thought process was cut off by Kagami suddenly appearing in the gym door. “Hey.”

Everyone looked up. Kuroko felt a spark of relief at seeing his partner, yet at the same time, he would have liked to whack Kagami across the head. The team was down on morale already, and his refusal to come to practice had just made things worse. (Good thing Kuroko had managed to meet up with Dai and Ryō recently, so the three of them could practice. He needed his skills to be top-notch if Kiyoshi was coming back anytime soon.)

Some groaned and whined about how they were worried about Kagami — which was true enough. Kuroko had been worried too, and he had given a piece of his mind to Aomine about the match. But Aomine had pointed out that it had been Kagami who’d been foolish enough to play while injured that heavily, and Kuroko knew he was right. As fast as his anger had come, it had evaporated.

He could not — would not blame Aomine for Kagami’s stupidity. Everyone bore the weight of their own mistakes, and it was no different for Kagami Taiga.

“Kagami, you _idiot_!“ the Captain growled, “We were worried about you! Are you properly recovered now? Not to mention, you didn’t even show up after injuring yourself more.”

Kagami bowed to Hyūga, looking regretful, “Sorry.”

“If you’re going to apologise, just come in the first place,“ Hyūga muttered.

Kuroko _almost_ smiled at that. That scene reminded him of a time when Aomine had skipped and pissed off Akashi in the process. But, even before Akashi could reprimand him for not coming, Aomine apologised. Akashi, for the first time _ever_ since they’d met, had looked to be on unsure footing and had said the very same words. Only his Captain had been much more composed than Hyūga was.

Seriously, there were so many similarities between Aomine and Kagami that it was sometimes, oftentimes, equally endearing and frightening. (He’d had to handle Aomine on a daily basis before. If Kagami turned out to be exactly like him, Kuroko would _resign_. Or demand payment. Dealing with people like Aomine, Kagami, and Kise 24/7 was tiresome, no matter how much he cared for them. So he was certainly due some sort of payment by now.)

The moment of Kagami’s arrival hadn’t even died down yet, Hyūga was still looking crossly at the redhead, when another voice called out, “Hey!”

Everyone perked up, and Kuroko’s heart skipped a beat. There he stood, dressed in Seirin’s Number 7 jersey. Kiyoshi Teppei, alias _Tessin_ and one of the six Uncrowned Kings. 

He looked better than ever.

“Let’s practice,“ he called a smile on his face, and Kuroko almost laughed. Really. Kiyoshi-senpai (now he could call the older boy that _for real_ ) had always been like that. Calm and composed — a lot like Sei — but he also had a playful, carefree side like Ryō and Dai. And an iron will, of course. He remembered Teikō crushing Shōei, they all did . . . but Kiyoshi had stood up after his defeat.

And, after a lot of shouting and (figurative) ass-kicking, Kuroko managed to get his siblings to apologise to him. After that, everything had turned towards the better . . . until Kiyoshi’s injury last year. Oh, he was so going to give _him_ a piece of his mind.

“Good to see you, Kiyoshi,“ Koganei called out.

Kuroko glanced back at the older players, and he could clearly see the joy and relief on their faces. Except, well, the coach seemed to be . . . in a bad mood, and Hyūga was looking crossly at the General, before pointing accusingly at him and then grabbing him by the shirt, “Hey, don’t give me that. Why are you wearing your uniform?!“

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed just a _teeny_ , tiny bit. _No one handled his family members roughly_ , not even Hyūga-senpai, his long standing friendship with Kiyoshi be damned. (However Kuroko also knew that the brown-haired player could handle himself, so he resisted the urge — just barely, but he resisted — to send an _Ignite Pass: Kai_ at their Point Guard.)

“Are you serious? Are you?!“ Hyūga growled, shaking the Center. Kiyoshi still maintained a pleasant expression, but Kuroko was not nearly as fine with the scene.

“ _Hyūga-senpai_ ,“ he called frostily. Everyone stiffened and looked at him. Kuroko slammed the ball he’d been holding against the floor sharply, causing some of his teammates to flinch, “I’d appreciate it if you gently released him and took a step back. _Right now_.”

To his credit, the Captain looked only slightly disturbed as he unclenched Kiyoshi’s jersey and took a few steps back, allowing the Center some personal space. With that problem resolved, blue and brown eyes finally met. Kiyoshi beamed as if he'd just won the lottery.

“ _Kuroko-kun!_ How’s my favourite Miracle? Or are you still going by ‘Phantom Prince,’ like in Teikō?“ he called, marching over to him. Kuroko smiled and hugged the General lightly.

Kuroko hummed, “No one has called me that since I left Teikō, _Tessin_.“

Kiyoshi laughed lightly, shaking his head, “Don’t call me _that_.”

Kuroko hummed, slowly disentangling himself from the older boy, “Then you shouldn’t call me by my moniker, either. A simple enough deal, no?”

“Hai, hai,“ he said, smiling sheepishly, “How about a truce on that topic, hm?“

“Deal, senpai.“

Kiyoshi frowned a little, “What have I told you about _that_ , Kuroko-kun?“

Kuroko shrugged, giving the Center a deceptively _innocent_ look, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“W-Wait a second, Teppei!“ Hyūga flailed, and several of Seirin’s Second Years were looking at the two of them with shock, confusion, and bafflement. _“You know Kuroko?”_

General and Miracle paused and then shared a look. Kiyoshi laughed, and Kuroko coughed to hide his laughter, although it wasn’t working very well. A moment later, the Phantom was as composed and stoic as always. Kiyoshi calmed down a bit too, although his huge, award-winning grin was still in place.

“Yes, of course,“ Kuroko stated calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “Do you think I chose Seirin as my school _on a whim_ ? I attended _Teikō_ , senpai. With my grades, I could have gotten into any school in the country. Actually . . . our Captain once offered me the chance to attend Rakuzan with him...”

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes, “Wasn’t he being a bit . . . I don’t know, greedy? Just a _teeny_ , tiny bit? He already has the other three with him at Rakuzan, and I’d bet all the money my family has that he chose that school deliberately.”

Kuroko rolled his eyes, “ _Of course_ he did. His father’s expectations aside, of course he kept basketball accomplishment in his sight. Seijūrō is meticulous and infallible . . .“

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes, “You know, Kuroko-kun, when you say it like _that_ . . . I can never decide if you’re serious or joking.“

“I’ll let you figure it out, senpai. Humor me with the answer by the end of practice.”

The older sighed, “I almost forgot that you didn’t just spend a tremendous amount of time around Akashi-kun but also around Nijimura.”

Kuroko shook his head, “Senpai has nothing to do with this. If anything, the others insisted that I spent too much time around Koto.”

Kiyoshi froze and then shook his head, “ _Of course_ you did. I still blame Nijimura for that one.”

Amusement flashed in the clear blue eyes, before the Phantom composed himself once more. “Did he seek you out?“

Kiyoshi faltered, “Who? You know Nijimura is still in the States . . .”

“Koto,“ the Phantom said. “Did he visit you? Did you talk it through?“

Kiyoshi sighed, “He hasn’t apologised, if that’s what you’re asking. Although . . . I didn’t expect much. He’s always been the odd one out. Actually, I’m surprised we all even ended up hanging around one another, you know? If it hadn’t been for you and Nijimura . . .”

“That’s senpai's achievement, not mine.”

Kiyoshi laughed, “He brought us together, yes. But you kept us together. Just like you beat common sense into the other five,” he smiled widely, gently ruffling Kuroko’s hair. “Nijimura would be proud of you.”

Kuroko smiled, shy yet somehow beaming like the sun, “I try, senpai.”

“Mou, _Kuroko-kun~_ ”

“What is it?“ he asked calmly, blinking.

Kiyoshi blinked, and, only a moment later, he had a massive dark cloud hovering above his head, “Still not even a step closer. So depressing . . .”

Someone cleared their throat, and it snapped Kiyoshi from his dark mood, making both of them look up at the team, “How do you know each other?“

Kiyoshi shrugged, “Shōei played against Teikō.”

“ _Senpai_ ,“ Kuroko called sharply, “Please don’t bring it up.”

Kiyoshi blinked at the Phantom, “What is it? You think I’ve forgotten that day even after that . . . how many did Aomine score, 200?“

Kuroko sighed, “Over 200, although Seijūrō and Shintarō were on the offensive as well.”

Several Seirin members choked, and Kuroko noted the shock and fear on the Seirin members’ faces, “W-what . . . how?“

“We were Teikō,“ Kuroko returned evenly, “Nothing less than victory was acceptable. What happened afterwards . . . was of little importance to us, but we won. We won, like we always did.”

Kiyoshi hummed, “And even today . . . I can’t decide if you were marvelous or monstrous down on that court.“

“Perhaps both, senpai. No one survived Teikō without turning into something of a monster. It’s just . . . a question of how well we hide and chain those monsters within. Surely, Nijimura-senpai . . .”

“Of course, of course. He was no less of a monster than you all, the strongest among us, yet still hidden in the shadows, a lot like you.”

Kuroko inclined his head in agreement, “Yes. I still remember the mess the team turned into after we figured out . . .“ he sighed, “He deserved more.”

“He didn’t mind, you know,“ Kiyoshi said softly.

Kuroko nodded starting to dribble, “I know. Koto kept saying that he was either too good for us or thousand times worse than the seven of us. I would say he was too good for us all. But . . . the least we can do is remember what he taught us. Remember, and step onto the court as if he were there, watching.”

Kiyoshi laughed, “You haven’t changed one bit, Kuroko-kun.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the teal-haired boy said, his eyes glinting, “Now I believe,we have some practice to do. The Winter Cup won’t be easy . . . if anything . . . those five will be out to crush us in order to drag me away from here.“

Kiyoshi laughed, “Who would’ve known they were all so _possessive_ , hm? I knew Akashi-kun was like that but the others too? What would Nijimura say?“

Kuroko shrugged, “We all learned from each other, senpai. And the one thing they all picked from Seijūrō — or perhaps picked up from Daiki — is possessiveness. And senpai? He’d either laugh himself silly or try whacking us all over the head, then give us a piece of his mind, probably.”

The Center grinned, “Ah yes. That sounds just like him.”

With that, the two of them moved to practice, while Seirin just stared after them, baffled.

“Does anyone understand what’s going on here?“ Kagami asked, looking at the rest of the team.

The others shared a look, and then Izuki shrugged, “All I could catch is that they know each other, and that the only reason Kuroko came here was to play with Kiyoshi. The rest went over my head.”

“ _Same,_ “ the team muttered as they studied the two of them as if they’d grown a second head.

* * *

**Post-Episode 20:** **“I Don’t Want To Be“**

Kuroko stood in the half-lit gym, dribbling a ball absent-mindedly. The others had left by now, and he only had Nigō for company. Well, Nigō and...

“You allowed Kagami-kun to win,“ he stated as he looked towards the door.

Kiyoshi walked into the gym with that usual easy-going air around him. “Yes,“ he stated simply, not beating around the bush. It was one of the things Kuroko liked about him. With Kuroko, he was straightforward, no riddles at all.

Kuroko smiled. 1 – 0, to him.

“And you’re keeping secrets from Seirin,” the General fired back immediately, though his voice remained calm.

1 – 1.

Kuroko sighed, “And if I am? Seirin are good, but . . .“

“You’re better,“ Kiyoshi finished.

“What I wanted to say is that they still need to grow,“ the Phantom amended, “Kagami-kun most of all. He has potential and a lot of it. I want to see that come to the surface, every last drop.”

Kiyoshi nodded, “Yes. Misfitting shoes aside, he really did give me a run for my money, even if we consider the fact that I’ve been bed-bound for a while. But you are _better than_ most of the people here. Vice-Captain of Teikō . . . that’s not a position people just throw around, and somehow I doubt you landed it because Akashi-kun favoured you. Akashi _does not_ play favourites, and we both know it.”

Kuroko hummed, “Indeed he does not. Still, my team is convinced that Seirin is not good enough for me. Or rather, that _Kagami-kun_ is not good enough. I’m quite sure the only reason Seijūrō is putting up with my ‘whimsicality,’ as Shin put it . . . is because they were convinced _you_ would be my partner, once you were back. They wanted me to go to Tōō, Kaijō, or Rakuzan . . .” he trailed off, shaking his head. “Sei doesn’t like it when his plans are ruined. And you ruined all his plans and expectations by allowing Kagami-kun to win.”

“Meh, it can’t be _that_ bad . . .“ Kiyoshi murmured as he walked closer. “Besides, he won’t know . . .”

Kuroko shrugged, “Seijūrō is absolute. One way or another, he _will know,_ and we’ll both get an earful.”

Kiyoshi shook his head fondly. “You know . . . you guys are just feeding his ego by never contradicting him.”

Kuroko shrugged, “Maybe we are, but at the same time, he _knows things_. You know that too. Maybe we are feeding the monster. But also we’re making sure we’ll stay alive. His scissors are sharp. Besides . . . I can’t say much about that. I’m the only one who hasn't shed blood yet. I can recall several occasions when the others gained a scar or two from his scissors . . . not many, but there _were_ occasions.”

Kiyoshi snorted, “Honestly . . . how have you survived three years with him?“

“He was not so expressive when senpai was around.“

The older laughed at that, “Ah, yes. I should have known. Nijimura was always capable of keeping us all on a short leash, wasn’t he?“

“You could say that, I guess,“ the teal murmured. “All that aside . . . would you mind joining me?”

Kiyoshi hummed, “Not at all. How much had Seirin seen so far?“

Kuroko shrugged, “Not much. All they’ve seen so far is the basics of my Misdirection, _Cyclone Pass_ and . . . I might have slipped a bit. They saw me stealing a few of Daiki’s balls after Kagami-kun was benched.“

Kiyoshi sighed, shaking his head, “Why are you keeping secrets, again?“

Kuroko backed off, gesturing for Kiyoshi to do the same as he started dribbling. “The Shadow is only as strong as the Light, senpai. You know that. I’m heavily dependent on my partner and team. Seirin is not ready for everything I know.“

Kiyoshi hummed, “Maybe you are right . . . but maybe you’re holding back a bit too much. I know you prefer observation to action, but you were Teikō’s Vice-Captain. That means you have strategic and playmaking skills. Considering _who_ taught you . . .“

Kuroko caught the ball again, and they shared a long glance. Then, when he bounced it again, he spun the ball and sent it across the court as precisely as always.

 _Ignite Pass: Kai_.

Kiyoshi winced as he caught it, “Holy! You’ve gotten better since we’ve last played.”

Kuroko’s features softened a little, “I’ll take that as a compliment, coming from someone like you.”

“Says the one who landed me with my moniker,“ the older boy countered.

The Phantom shrugged as Kiyoshi tossed the ball back to him, “In my defence . . . it wasn’t intentional. I just spoke the truth.”

A few days later, Kuroko was calmly making his way towards Tōō’s gym. Momoi had told him that Aomie had made amends with Sakurai. Ever since, the two of them apparently often switched bento since the shy Shooting Guard had fallen in love with their brother’s cooking.

Kuroko felt like that was worth some special rewards for them — he knew that all his “family“ would be willing to kill for his cooking . . . and it had been a while since he’d cooked them something. It was Saturday, so he had time to finish everything. He was sure that Aomine would be here today, if only because his brother was just a tiny bit paranoid. He knew that if Kuroko felt like it, he’d come to Tōō just to check if Aomine was in practice.

The closer Kuroko got to the gym, the more prominent the sounds of feet pounding and balls bouncing became. The door was ajar, which was perfect. He slipped in, unnoticed, and watched the team for a moment. They were doing some laps while Aomine was practicing scoring — not that he needed to practice that — with Sakurai Ryō of all people. It seemed his brother had found a new friend among his teammates. Tsuki was talking with another girl, probably another manager, holding her clipboard and occasionally glancing at it.

She was the first one to notice him (not a surprise, since Aomine’s back was facing away from the door). “TETSU!” she called.

That got everyone’s attention. She dropped her clipboard and ran across the court, nimbly dodging a few benchwarmers of the team. Aomine grinned as well, whirling away from the hoop and dropping his ball, “Tetsu! Nice to see you!”

Tsuki was the first one to reach him, and she gave him a bone-crushing hug which he returned with only one arm, as the other arm was holding the bag he’d brought. “Hello, Tsuki.”

A moment later, she let him go, and Aomine was there, grinning widely, “Tetsu.”

He bumped fists with his brother, smiling, “I see you’ve actually bothered to stay this time, Nī-san.”

“Ah, wouldn’t want Tsuki to go mad from boredom. Besides, it’s actually some fun with Sakurai around,” he said, gesturing at the shy Shooting Guard.

“K-Kuroko-san.”

Kuroko smiled, “Sakurai-kun. Hope there’s no more bento-related problems anymore?“ he asked, throwing a sharp look at the dark-skinned Ace.

Sakurai shook his head vigorously, “No-None at all. Never knew Aomine-san was so good at cooking, though. S-So I think . . . I’m glad you turned up when you did. He showed me a few interesting recipes.”

Kuroko hummed, “Yes, he’s actually pretty good when he has patience or some sort of motivation to grab a pot and cook.”

“Ah, what brings you to Tōō, Kuroko-kun?“ another voice called, causing Aomine to scowl.

Kuroko gave the older male a brief glance. “Nothing much. I merely came to bring my siblings some bento,” he stated, opening the bag and offering a small box to Momoi. She snatched it away with stars in her eyes.

“Yes! You’re a saint, Tetsu!” she called, immediately hurrying towards the bench.

Aomine perked up as well, and Kuroko chuckled, “Here, here,” he offered a second, identical box to the Ace who snatched it away with a hungry glint in his dark blue eyes.

“ _Yes!_ Homemade food, Tetsu-style! You’re a treasure to have around, Tetsu! Did I ever say that?“ he asked over his shoulder, marching towards the bench while Tōō stared. Aomine didn’t normally compliment people, after all . . .

Kuroko hummed, “A few times, Dai. You’ve said that a few times already, I believe,” he reached into the bag again and offered the third box to Sakurai, surprising everyone.

Sakurai blinked at the box and then at Kuroko, “F-for m-me?“

“Yes. Since Satsuki said you had fun with Daiki when cooking and exchanging food-related things, I thought you might want to try?“

“Take it, Sakurai!” Aomine called, already swallowing a bite. “Tetsu’s food’s _heavenly_! If you said that you like what I got you, you’ll be addicted to this one! Tetsu’s ten times better at cooking than I am! It’s food you’d be willing to kill for, trust me.”

Sakurai shrugged and took the bento, bowing. “Arigato, Kuroko-kun.”

Kuroko smiled, “Enjoy your meal and Daiki . . . I _do_ need the boxes back in time, please.“

Aomine hummed, waving his chopsticks at the Phantom, “I’ll return them tomorrow, ‘kay?“

Kuroko nodded as Sakurai opened the box, now sitting on the bench next to Momoi. A minute later, the shy boy was sparkling with happiness and looking at the Phantom with admiration. “This is _delicious_ , Kuroko-kun! Even better than Aomine-san’s!”

Aomine grunted, “Heh, _told you_ , Sakurai. Tetsu’s the best when it comes to cooking.“

Sakurai hummed, as he swallowed another bite, “Do you think you could tell me the recipe?“

Kuroko nodded, “I’ll send it to Satsuki or Daiki later, and they can give it to you. Or, better yet, they have my number. Call me later, and I’ll tell you, Sakurai-kun.”

“Arigato!”

Kuroko was just about to turn away when his phone rang. With a sigh, the teal glanced down at it and then put it to his ear, “Shin?“

He waved at the other team and left the gym, talking calmly into the phone. Tōō just stared, watching their two starters and manager eat quietly, as if there was no tomorrow. Sakurai was still sparkling happily, which kind of weirded out everyone, save for the two ex-Teikō members.

“W-will Sakurai be okay?“ Susa asked, eyeing the shy boy oddly. Aomine glanced at him and then laughed.

“Yeah, he should be okay once he gets used to how heavenly Tetsu’s food is. We were all like that when we first tasted his cooking. He should be back to normal soon.”

However, sadly for Tōō, “normal” meant an entirely different thing for Aomine Daiki than the rest of them. Starting that day, the shy boy and the two ex-Teikō members became inseparable. Whenever someone saw them together, they were either discussing basketball or, surprisingly more often, various foods and recipes.

And they still kept switching bento. Sometimes, Kuroko Tetsuya would somehow undetectably slip in and bring food for the three of them, sometimes taking either Sakurai’s or Aomine’s cooking in exchange. (Once, when Kuroko praised Sakurai’s cooking skills, the other looked positively star-struck.)

Tōō just _stated_.

The Teikō duo (trio) being weird when it came to basketball and food was one thing. But sweet, shy Sakurai Ryō joining them in their weirdness? It was too much.

Harasawa groaned, “I need a raise.”

Imayoshi grunted as he watched the three sitting in the middle of the gym, once again eating and animatedly discussing basketball. “You get paid for dealing with them, kantoku. _I don’t_.”

* * *

**Episodes 21 – 22** **_(Summer training camp)_ **

“The coach will be cooking for us.“ Hyūga said gravely

“Huh, is that bad?“

“Of course it’s bad!“ Hyūga snapped, distressed. “At the Tōō game, you saw her honey-soaked lemons!“

The memory floated back into their heads, and everyone looked worried at that. Even Kiyoshi shook his head, “That . . . That’s not really cooking. As much as I love her as a friend, Riko can’t cook.”

Some of the First Years moaned to themselves, sharing distrustful looks, “You mean it’s inedible?”

“Why don’t we just cook for ourselves?”

“I wish we could,“ Izuki cut in, “but practice is so brutal that we can’t even move at night, much less cook.”

At that, a heavy cloud of depression appeared over the team’s heads, until Kiyoshi perked up, “ _Kuroko-kun!_ How about you save us, ne?”

Seirin looked at their beaming General, who wasn’t taking his eyes off of the Phantom. “What?“ Hyūga asked, “Kuroko can cook?”

“Yes,” Kiyoshi beamed, “and he cooks deliciously, too! It’s even something worth killing for.“

Kuroko sighed, giving a searching look to the older, “I thought only Nijimura-senpai and the others had that bad habit of exaggerating?“

The Center waved, “Ne, ne Kuroko-kun. Don’t be so modest. You cook wonderfully. And as much as I care for Riko, she really can’t cook. We don’t want to die of food poisoning, right?“

Kuroko blanched, showing more emotion in that second than anyone on the team had ever seen from him so far. “You . . . you’re serious, aren’t you?“

Kiyoshi swallowed hard, “Yes. I know you cook deliciously, and Riko allows you to handle your own training, doesn’t she? Which means you can quit before you collapse half-dead, unlike the rest of us. Meaning you can do the cooking!”

Kuroko crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing, “And did you, by any chance, have anything to do with her leniency, _Kiyoshi-senpai?_ “

Kiyoshi smiled sheepishly, “I . . . might have told her we knew each other before this year? And that you can handle yourself better than anyone on the team?”

Seirin was staring at Kiyoshi and Kuroko, confused by what they were hearing. What did Kiyoshi mean by Kuroko being capable of handling himself?

“What else did you tell her?“ Kuroko asked. Most people didn’t notice, but Hyūga, Izuki, and Kiyoshi noticed the subtle change in the teal’s stance, as well as the cold aura which he started to emit.

Kiyoshi rubbed the back of his neck, “Nothing, really. Gomen, Kuroko-kun,” he sighed. “I know you like your privacy, and I understand. But at the same time, Seirin doesn't know you. Riko’s exceptional at what she does but by no means is she Akashi-kun. She cannot handle you, and we both know it. You’re experienced enough . . . and you handled enough in Teikō for you to deal with your own training. While you can be reckless sometimes, I think you understand what overdoing it will mean. I will call _him,_ and you can deal with the following earful . . .”

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed, “That’s blackmail, Kiyoshi- _kun_.“

Kiyoshi nodded seriously, “Hai. It is. Now, to avoid disaster . . . and the necessity of calling _him_ . . . would you please cook for us? Riko seriously cannot cook, and if we get food poisoning, the camp will be pointless. I know you cook wonderfully.”

Kuroko’s eyes slid shut, “Now I almost regret inviting you over that one time. But so be it. I will do the cooking. But in exchange . . . you’re helping me. You’ve just recovered and can’t overextert yourself, no matter how good the specialist who did your surgery was.”

Kiyoshi sighed, “Fine by me.”

Kuroko hummed, “If you’ll excuse me . . . I’ll be back in a moment,” and then, he slipped out of the room.

Seirin blinked at Kiyoshi in confusion. “Teppei . . . what was that about?“ Hyūga asked.

Kiyoshi sighed, “Kuroko-kun is from a wealthy family. An old friend of ours, as well as several others, helped out . . . after they found out I got injured. Said friends brought in a specialist from America to do my surgery. It cost a mountain of money, but the Kuroko family and a few others paid for all of it — all because they wanted me to be able to play basketball with them, like I did before my injury. I told them that I want to pay it back, but all four people — Kuroko-kun’s mother included — declined and all but forbid me from ever bringing up the topic. Even now, after I’ve been released from the hospital, I’m sure that the exact details of my condition went around among them all, and that they’ve asked Kuroko-kun to make sure I don’t overexert myself. That’s why Kuroko-kun asked me to help him cook — to make me rest. By the way . . . he’s wonderful at it, so you won’t have to worry . . .”

“Slow down a bit!“ Kagami snapped, “That’s too much information in one go. Let’s take it step by step. You know Kuroko from before . . . when he attended Teikō?“

Kiyoshi nodded, “Hai. We met around the end of his Second Year, after Teikō beat my school. He apologised for the disastrous match, and then we became friends.“

Everyone shared several looks, “And . . . you say Kuroko’s from a wealthy family who paid for your surgery?“ Hyūga repeated.

Kiyoshi nodded, “A senpai of Kuroko-kun’s from Teikō is an old acquaintance of mine. He moved to America not too long after Kuroko’s second year of Middle School started . . . but not before introducing us. When he heard about my injury . . . our friend in America found a specialist. The Kurokos and other wealthy friends of Kuroko-kun’s paid for all my medical treatments, every last penny until the day I was released from the hospital.”

Everyone gaped, eyes widening, “J-just how wealthy is Kuroko?“ Kagami murmured.

Kiyoshi shrugged, “That’s not something you ask, but his family is in a good enough position to not be bothered by the several thousand yen bill for each of my treatments.“

Even more gasps and gapes spread among them. “H-he doesn’t look like someone who’s swimming in money,” Kagami murmured.

Kiyoshi nodded, “Only because he does not _want_ to look like that.”

“And . . .” Koganei murmured, snapping out of his shock, “you say he cooks?“

Kiyoshi beamed, “Yes! He cooks deliciously, trust me. So we’ll be fine, as long as we don’t allow Riko anywhere near the kitchen.”

Hyūga shared a look with the other Second Years, before he looked at Kiyoshi. “If we can get edible food in exchange for keeping her away . . . consider it done.”

Even after just one day on the beach, they could all tell that they had improved, although everyone was bone tired afterward. Kuroko had cooked with some help from Kiyoshi, just as they had agreed, and Seirin had to admit that their Phantom Sixth was very good.

The next morning, Kagami, Kiyoshi, and Kuroko were walking through the corridors of their lodgings to breakfast. Kiyoshi had decided to tag along because he’d noticed the tension which was still present between Shadow and Light and had hoped to diffuse some of it.

Kiyoshi chuckled at the ridiculous bed head Kuroko had, while Kagami just seemed plain mortified — and maybe touch sympathetic. As they walked, they bumped into unexpected people.

Kazunari and Midorima. Both Shūtoku students, as well as Kagami, were shocked, but Midorima snapped out of it first, nodding to the Phantom in greeting. “Morning, Tetsu . . .” his lips quirked upwards. “Your bed head's still as ridiculous as always.”

Kuroko’s eyes narrowed on the Shooting Guard, “Whenever you say such things, Shintarō, I have the feeling you’ve got a _death_ wish . . .”

Midorima huffed, rolling his eyes, “Geez, you’ve picked up too much of Sei’s dramatics. Relax,” his green eyes found Kiyoshi, and the Center nodded.

“Hello, Midorima-kun.“

Midorima smiled, and the two of them shared a brief, “manly” hug, shocking both Kagami and Kazunari. “Kiyoshi. It’s a relief to see you out of bed.”

Kiyoshi hummed, “It’s a relief to be out of that room, indeed. Thank you for all the help . . .”

Midorima waved at him, “Think nothing of it. We . . . we owed that to you.”

Kiyoshi shook his head, “Where did you get an idea like that from? You owe me nothi—”

“Oh, but we did, senpai,“ Kuroko cut in, giving the older player a pointed look. Kiyoshi laughed lightly, shaking his head.

“You guys are impossible, you know?“

“We know,“ Midorima said, readjusting his glasses. “People keep saying we pull off the impossible when on the court. There’s nothing new there, Kiyoshi.”

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes, “Sometimes, I wonder which of you is the worse.“

The two Miracles shared a look, and their lips curled upwards. “ _Sei_ ,“ they said together, causing the General to laugh.

“I’m guessing you would not share this opinion of yours with him?“ he asked, his brown eyes glinting.

Midorima snorted, “Did you lose your mind while you were confined in your hospital room, Kiyoshi? Of course, we’re _not_ going to tell him. He’d kill us both, and I’d like to survive High School, thank you very much. What . . . are you doing here, anyway?“

“Training camp,“ Kuroko stated calmly. “We’re about to have breakfast. Would you like to join, Shintarō?“ his eyes flickered to Kazunari. “Both of you can come, of course.“

Midorima hummed, “The offer is appreciated . . .“

“Kuroko-kun’s cooking,“ Kiyoshi grinned.

Midorima stiffened, and his eyes glinted, “Is that so?“

“Uh, Shin-chan?“

“Leave it, Takao,“ the Shooting Guard waved him off. “I’m coming, Tetsu.”

Kuroko shook his head amused as they headed towards the others. Kazunari and Kagami could do nothing but gape and follow their resepective Miracle parnters in shock as the two of them walked ahead.

Of course, Seirin was surprised to see the two Shūtoku students, and even more surprised when Kiyoshi revealed that they’d invited Midorma and Kazunari to eat with them. The two of them sat at the table as far away from Seirin as they could, obviously awkward, while Kuroko and Kiyoshi busied themselves with getting food out to everyone.

“Not that I mind the invitation, Tetsu . . .“ Midorima called — again, somewhat weirding out Seirin by calling the Phantom by his given name so casually. “But why did you even offer?”

Kuroko hummed, “We both know that you shouldn’t even ask, Shintarō. Let’s just say it’s my way of making amends, considering that Satsuki and Daiki have been over my house several times, and I might have visited them at school a little while ago.“

Seirin’s eyes widened at hearing that. Kuroko had been over at Tōō? Before Kagami could snap at his Shadow for “conspiring with the enemy,” Midorima rolled his eyes. “You’re spoiling them.”

Kuroko shrugged, “I’d do the same to you, but you’re pretty far away . . . not that you don’t get your fair share when we meet for shōgi, ne?“

Midorima sighed as Kazunari blinked at the green-haired player, “N-Nani? Shin-chan? You’re meeting with Tet-chan for shōgi and you didn’t . . .”

Midorima glared, “Get your head out of the gutter, Takao!“ he snapped, just as the first round of plates — Midorma’s own among them — were brought to the table. “We’re friends, and that’s all. An occasional shōgi match and some book exchanges are all we do.” Midorima sighed as soon as he lifted the chopsticks in his hand, “Ah, this reminds me of the old days. If there’s something I really miss, Tetsu, other than your and Sei’s incredibly complicated, yet simple playmaking . . . it’s training camp. Or rather, when you cooked at training camp.”

Kuroko deadpanned, “I was the only one who cooked. And Daiki. You guys are _hopeless_ in the kitchen, although Tsuki is the worst, and I don’t say that to be mean.“

Midorima and Kiyoshi both cringed at that reminder, “Kuroko-kun, please,“ Kiyoshi called. “We don’t need nightmares about food poisoning or about radioactive sashimi and—”

 _“Don’t!”_ Midorima snapped, his green eyes narrowing on the General, “Oha Asa help me, Kiyoshi, if you finish that sentence, I’m going to hang you upside down from a hoop, and damn the consequences.”

Kuroko sighed, “ _Shintarō_ ,“ he called sharply, “please. And Kiyoshi-senpai . . . today’s going to be long enough as it is. No one needs unnecessary distractions.”

“Gomen Tetsu/Kuroko-kun,“ they said at once and started eating.

Seirin could do nothing but stare. And then they all dug in.

“KUROKO, THIS IS DELICIOUS!“ everyone called enthusiastically.

“Ne, ne, Tet-chan, you gonna teach me how to— _Oi, Shin-chan_ , why’d you hit me?!” Kazunari wailed, throwing a hurt, betrayed look at his partner, who did not seem apologetic in the slightest.

“Call him _that_ again, Takao, and I will not be held responsible for what will happen to you,“ Midorima warned gravely and then started eating again.

The two Miracles (plus Kiyoshi) then busied themselves with food and what seemed to be a conversation — except that it was composed of half words, gestures, and stares, and no one else could understand a single thing they were saying.

What the hell was going on with them all?

The next day Shūtoku and Seirin lined up to play a practice game, but Aida sent Kagami to get drinks for the team. Seeing the new line up, Kuroko glanced at Kiyoshi.

“Senpai . . .”

“Hai?“

“I need you to act as the Power Forward. Now that Kagami-kun can’t participate, we’re at a disadvantage. You’re not in top shape yet, and we’ll also need to polish our techniques, but . . .”

“It’s quite alright, Kuroko-kun,“ he said offering his hand.

Kuroko smiled and high-fived him, earning a few raised eyebrows from Seirin. Both players ignored the team, though, mentally going through their game plan. They’d have to include the team, of course, but at the same time, they also would have to focus on each other as partners.

“Riko,” Kiyoshi called out just before they started, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Yes, Teppei?”

“Since Kagami can’t play, I’ll take his spot,“ his eyes flickered to the side. “Mitobe, I need you to take over the Center spot,” the quiet player nodded, eyes glinting seriously.

The rest of Seirin raised a few eyebrows. “What are you planning, Kiysoshi?“ Hyūga asked.

Kuroko and Kiyoshi shared a look, before the taller smiled. “Nothing much, Junpei. Just a little warm up.”

Shūtoku won the tip off, and the game started. It was a practice match. However, by no means did the players take it easy, and it had come as a surprise for Shūtoku to see Seirin playing without Kagami. It didn’t take long for Shūtoku to take the lead with Midorima’s threes, but at the same time, Kuroko had appeared under the basket, which surprised everyone (except Midorima).

The Phantom smiled as Midorima’s eyes went wide, “Dammit, stop him!“ Midorma called, just as Kuroko thrust the ball forward.

_Ignite Pass: Kai._

Kiyoshi caught it without a blink and scored smoothly, using Shūtoku’s surprise to his advantage.

“What was that?!” someone from Shūtoku called, and Midorima scowled at his teammate.

“Idiots! Anyone who underestimates Tetsu ends up as a sobbing mess!“

In the end, Shūtoku won the match, but the shock caused by the seamless teamwork between Kuroko and Kiyoshi had lasting effects on both teams. Only Midorima seemed to get his wits together by the end. As the teams were leaving, he walked over, surprising Seirin. However, the Shooting Guard only had eyes for Kiyoshi. He offered the Center a handshake, and Kiyoshi grinned.

“Good game,“ Kiyoshi grinned.

Midorima nodded, “Hm, you’re a bit rusty . . . but I suppose that’ll get better. You’ll need some time to sync your game with Tetsu too . . . but it’s not too bad.”

Kiyoshi shook his head, “Kagami is Kuroko’s partner, not me. Don’t forget that.”

Midorima rolled his eyes, “Seirin would not be where they are without Tetsu, and we both know that Kagami doesn’t even know half of what he’s capable of. _You_ know him. You two are better in sync — besides, you’re the one we trust. Dai’s been right about that one. Kagami’s too weak for Tetsu . . . or Tetsu’s too good for Kagami. The point is the same either way.”

“You’re setting Teikō-worthy expectations, Midorima,“ Kiyoshi chided lightly. “This is not Teikō.”

Midorima frowned as he turned away, “A part of me wishes it were Teikō, Kiyoshi. A part of me wishes it were. You and Tetsu are too good for this sub-par team.”

Kiyoshi just stood there, shaking his head and muttering about protective family (and said family’s ridiculously high standards of basketball), while Seirin was left to bristle in rage at the Shooting Guard’s words.

The rest of the training camp had stayed on that sour note, with only Kiyoshi, Kuroko, and Midorima interacting. Everyone else kept their distance from the other team. (Or, mostly, Seirin kept their distance as they tried very hard not to strangle Midrorima whenever they caught sight of him.)

Of course, since Kuroko had not been present for that brief exchange, he could not comprehend what had possessed Seirin as they planned the murder of his beloved Tsundere teammate, brother, and shōgi partner. Sadly for the poor Phantom, Kiyoshi’s sighs and head shakes every time he encountered one of Seirin’s plans to “murder“ Midorima were not too informative either.

* * *

**Episodes 25:** **“ Our Basketball“**

The match was over — Tōō won.

“So they _were_ at their limit,” Kiyoshi murmured as he watched the two teams on the court.

“But . . . how did that happen?“ Hyūga murmured.

Kuroko sighed, “Ryōta was reckless, and Kaijō was at their limit already. They — we — can keep up with each other,“ he said, gaining the attention of Seirin. “Were we not able to do that . . . to keep up, our victories at Teikō would have never been so crushing. Precise play-making and a pace set by the likes of Dai and Ryō . . . and our opponents crumbled before us. Kaijō crumbled from the inside out, before they even realised. Basketball is a team game, but at the same time, they were too caught up in their world. They separated themselves from each other . . . because Tōō would have failed to stop Ryō without Daiki and vice versa. Copying Daiki on the other hand . . .“

Kiyoshi frowned, peering up to the row where Kuroko sat, “Kise injured himself, didn’t he?“

“I’d bet a year’s worth of milkshakes that _yes_ , he did. Probably even Dai too . . . “ he sighed. “He’s often lazy and that gives Tōō a headache. They can’t handle him, and he’s too bored, so he skips practice. That means he’s not in perfect shape. This was not his full capacity . . . meaning that he might have gotten injured, too.“

Kiyoshi grunted, “ _Careless brats_.“

Kuroko hummed, “That they are, senpai . . . just make sure neither of them hears you say that, or they’ll hound you till the ends of the Earth.”

Kiyoshi smiled innocently, “You’d save me from them, wouldn’t you, Kuroko-kun?“ Kuroko just rolled his eyes, and Seirin shook their heads.

It, sadly, hadn’t taken long for them to get used to Kuroko and Kiyoshi’s odd, half-cryptic exchanges. They’d already given up on understanding them. (Maybe . . . it was safer to _not_ know what they were talking about, since it so frequently involved the _Kiseki no Sedai_ . . . and it was common, unspoken knowledge that Teikō’s prodigies weren’t the . . . _sanest_ batch.)

Down on the court, the two teams bowed to each other and got ready to leave. But as Kise turned around he cried out in pain, gaining the attention of both parties. The blonde cursed colourfully as he fell. Even before someone from Kaijō could reach for him, Aomine was there, demonstrating his infamous speed.

Kise huffed as Aomine dragged him upwards, “ _Bakayaro_ ,“ the Power Forward growled, “Copying me like that? Do you want to sit out your next game so much?“

“So _mean,_ ssu~!” the blonde pouted, “I’ll tell Tetsucchi!”

Aomine snorted, glancing towards Tōō’s bench. “Satsuki!”

“Be there soon!“ she called back, hurrying off while Aomine looked back at Kise and helped him towards Kaijō’s bench, ignoring both teams.

“Aomi — ”

“Piss off, Imayoshi!“ he called sharply, not even looking at the Third Year, “I’ll be back by the time we have to leave. Busy yourself with your business, and don’t stick your nose in mine!”

Kaijō eyed them oddly, but they walked towards their bench. Kasamatsu picked up Kise’s flask and towel, and they headed towards the lockers. Aomine could feel the sharp, confused eyes of Kaijō and their coach on him, but he didn’t care. Let them think whatever they want.

“Seriously Ryō . . .“ Aomine grunted, “what the Hell were you thinking? Copying me? Did you tell Tetsu about this plan?”

The blonde shook his head, “Eh no? . . . It was kind of . . . well, I just decided to do it now. On the spot, really. I just panicked.“

Aomine snorted, “Come on, you overreact to things, but you’ve _learned_ to focus in a game. Tetsu beat focus into your head. I know that because he did the same to _me_ at the end of our First Year. I guess that may have actually been a major factor in why Sei promoted Tetsu.”

Kise sighed, “I know. Tetsucchi probably noticed ‘cause I’d bet all my money that he and Peicchi were up in the stands, watching. And he’ll probably be pissed . . .”

Aomine scoffed, “You know that’s an _understatement,_ right? I think . . . I should get ready for your funeral, and we should call the others too, but . . . Sei being Sei, he probably already knows.”

Kise whined like a wounded puppy as Aomine stopped before the locker room door. Kaijō gave him odd, suspicious looks, but he just narrowed his eyes at them while the Captain opened the door and waved him in. Aomine helped the blonde sit, and Kise groaned.

“Tetsucchi’s gonna kill me,“ he said.

Aomine hummed, leaning up against the wall, “Hell yeah, he will. Seriously . . . do you have a death wish? Or are you just too lazy to play during the Winter Cup?“

“Oii, so mean!“ the blonde whined.

Aomine sighed, “Look . . . I really don’t know what else to think. You try copying me out of the blue . . . and you get yourself injured. Careless . . . and Tetsu and Satsuki call _me_ an idiot. If I’m the idiot, what does that make _you?_ ”

“An even bigger idiot, which is a feat worthy of some sort of trophy,“ an unimpressed voice interjected. Everyone glanced towards the door as Momoi Satsuki glided in, bringing medical supplies with her.

“You’re so _mean_ , Satsucchi!”

“Did you train with Tetsu?“ she asked sharply as she sat down on the ground and helped Kise get his shoes off.

The model sighed, shaking his head, “Iie, Satsucchi. I . . . I panicked. So . . . I did this on the spot.“

“You’re overenthusiastic sometimes,“ Aomine grunted, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, “but you _don’t_ panic. Let’s just admit we all think in a way that’s too Teikō-like, even now. You _don’t_ simply _panic_. What the hell were you thinking?“

Kise flailed before glaring at him, but the edge of it was taken off by the way he whined at Momoi’s probing of his foot, “What was I supposed to be thinking, Daicchi?! Heh, tell me?! You _crushed_ Seirin. _You_ crushed Seirin, single-handedly.“

Aomine rolled his eyes, “Because Seirin are _weak_ , damn it. _He_ wasn’t in the game, and Tetsu . . . Tetsu’s amazing when he actually lets go . . . but if he did, he would have been dragging Seirin all over the place. Kaijō doesn’t rely on you,“ he said, making a gesture at the team. “They’re capable on a professional level, just like any other normal, well-known team in the country. Tōō doesn’t rely on me, either. They’re well-positioned and capable on their own. I just make their work easier like you make Kaijō’s work easier.“

“Dai’s right,“ Momoi said, “Seirin is relying too much on Tetsu. And they can’t train him properly. If this continues any longer, Tetsu will hurt himself by trying to get Seirin through the Winter Cup.”

“I did what I did,“ Aomine said, narrowing his eyes on Kise, “to make it damn clear. I wanted the bastards to _realise that_ Tetsu is too good for them and that he’s stuck because they’re _weak_. He stopped my attempts several times, but without Kagami on the court, their offence crumbled. Tetsu simply didn’t have the energy left to go on the offensive afterwards. He was the only reason they could even touch the ball after Kagami left, and _you know it._ ”

Kise laughed breathlessly, “Yeah, because Tetsucchi can get past you, can he, Daicchi?“

Aomine rolled his eyes, “Don’t kid yourself. Tetsu can get past _all_ of us. He can take our moves apart at the seams, yours and mine best of all. He’s single-handedly capable of crushing teams, so long as the team he’s playing with is at least decent. Seirin knows shit about him.“

Kise hummed, looking at the Power Forward, “Peicchi’s in Seirin,“ he pointed out.

Aomine sighed, and Momoi stood, finally done with her work, “Ki-chan might be there Ryō . . . but he’s not an active player right now. Ki-chan’s a Seirin player _theoretically_. Technically, he’s barely set his foot inside a gym in the last year.”

“Like she said,'' Aomine grunted, “Kagami is weak, and without Kiyoshi there . . . Tetsu can’t play. Man, _why_ didn’t Tetsu stick with one of us? It hurts even watching him with those weaklings. Why the hell does _Kiyoshi_ stick around? If Tetsu‘s not with you or me or Sei . . . he could at least stick with Kiyoshi. They’d be a terrifyingly efficient duo, and Kiyoshi at least _listens_ to Tetsu’s plans. Seirin didn’t even _notice_ what Tetsu had been doing all throughout our match!“

Kise snorted, “I’d say you’re being a possessive friend and being unnecessarily overdramatic Daicchi . . . but I kind of agree with you.“

Aomine rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Now, get your shit together for the Winter Cup, will you? And call Tetsu for extra training if you wanna copy us.”

Kise blinked, “You . . . you _really_ don’t mind?“

Aomine laughed sharply, “They always planned for you to do it, y’know? Really! Like some little conspiracy of theirs. And honestly? No, I don’t. Makes the game _fun_ ,“ he smirked. “If I could, I’d teach you some tricks myself, but I know your copy doesn’t work that simply, and I always sucked at teaching others. At explaining things. I’ll leave that to Tetsu and Sei. So . . . considering that there’s still time till the Winter Cup, you’d better rope Tetsu into training you.“

Kise crossed his arms and pouted, “And _how_ I’m supposed to do _that_ , Daicchi? Tetsucchi will be busy with Seirin!“

Aomine shrugged, “Be _creative_ , Ryō. And _rest_ — _before_ you end up with an injury that incapacitates you for an entire season. C’mon, Satsuki. Time to go before Imayoshi slithers his way in here. Wouldn’t want to subject Kaijō to Imayoshi. No one deserves _that_.”

Momoi just shook her head and waved goodbye at the blonde, “Rest well, Ryō. And at least _speak_ with Tetsu before the Winter Cup, okay?“

Kise hummed as he watched them go, “Sure, Satsucchi. Make sure Daicchi doesn’t kill someone on Tōō. Getting him out of prison would be an unnecessary headache for Tetsucchi and Seicchi!”

She laughed at that and left, closing the door behind herself. Kise sighed, rubbing his face, “Man . . . I’m tired . . .”

“Uuh . . . Kise?”

Kise turned to look at his wide-eyed, shocked team. Even his coach seemed taken aback, though Kise couldn’t guess _why_ they would look so freaked out. “Yes?”

“Di-did Aomine just _allow_ you to copy him and . . .“

Kise shrugged, “Yeah. They always knew I’d pull it off eventually. The reason he was so upset during the game was because he figured out that I did it on the spot and hadn’t trained for it. So . . . I guess he figured that I might hurt myself during the game, copying him without proper preparation. And he was right,” he sighed, shifting to lay on the bench and stare at the ceiling. “Man . . . this sucks. Now I’ll have to wait to train until I get healed — at least somewhat. I wouldn’t have made it back here on my own feet . . . that’s really bad.”

Kaijō just stared. And _stared_.

Aomine Daiki had helped Kise into the locker and essentially allowed the blonde to copy him — downright said he’d _teach_ Kise if he could.

What the hell was with the _Kiseki no Sedai_? Weren’t they supposed to be _rivals_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please leave comments and tell me what you think. Arigato. 😊


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